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Lifetime Bluff resident serving his third term in office as representative
of the area. Member of the Democratic Alliance.
This weeks Councillor comments
Duncan Du Bois
You can contact Councillor D Du Bois by e-mail @ dubois@axxess.co.za
Phone:467-0343 or mobile:083 291-4913
Municipal Manager - Dr Sutcliffe:  Tel 311-2130 ;
SutcliffeM@durban.gov.za
Report dumping  or unauthorised use of verges; Phone 311-7448

Metro All-Call / All hours Tel No.:  361-0000

Metro Police: Tel 402-0680

Brighton Beach SAPS:    Tel 451 8060 / 8059

Brighton Beach Community Policing Forum Chairman:  Carl Knauff : 082 449-6503

ROAD REPAIRS and SMASHED DRAINS - Toll free call: 080 13 13 013
Or   -   email:  eservices@dmws.durban.gov.za
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Bluff Ward 66
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ISSUES IN WARD 66  FOR THE
ABM IN THE SOUTH DURBAN
BASIN TO FLAG:
Learn more about issues in ward 66
AUGUST'08
Property For Sale
READ ALL ABOUT THE RATES ISSUE
NOTHING ' SHREWD' ABOUT ANC SABOTAGE OF
ATTEMPT AT BETTER GOVERNANCE

Municipal reporter Matthew Savides' claim ( The
Mercury, August 1) that the ANC employed a '
shrewd tactic' at the Metro Council meeting on July
31 resulting in one of the DA's notices of motion
being withdrawn, beggars belief. There is nothing
shrewd about ANC sabotage of attempts at better
governance.

Essentially the motion I proposed called for  an
audit of vacant land within the Metro so that
surplus plots could be sold off.
Manifold benefits could accrue from such sales:
cash in the Metro's coffers, less hassle for DSW
and Parks & Gardens in maintaining these plots,
local job creation as a result of development of the
plots. Basically  the motion promised a win-win
situation all round which, at a time of conomic
hardship, would see the Metro stimulating the
local economy whilst simultaneously pruning its
expenses and streamlining its finances.

Instead of approving this sensible piece of policy,
the ANC proposed to rewrite it in a way that
destroyed its purpose.  They proposed
that all undeveloped land in the Metro - including
green lung areas like parks - be appraised for,
inter alia, the construction of low cost housing.
The effect of such a policy would be the total
reverse of what was originally intended. The value
of properties adjacent to low cost housing
developments
would plummet, shrinking the rates base in the
process.

Once again the ANC in Ethekwini municipality have
demonstrated their attachment to discredited
socialist policies.
Not only are they politically bereft of new ideas but
they strive wantonly to sabotage attempts by the
DA at better governance for all.
So much for the ANC's 2006 election slogan of '
make local government work better.'

***********************************
HOW THE ANC SABOTAGES ATTEMPTS AT
BETTER GOVERNANCE

Th following Notice of Motion by Cllr Duncan Du
Bois had to be withdrawn from the agenda of the
July 31 meeting of the
Ethekwini Durban Metro Council after the ANC
threatened to amend it so radically as to destroy its
purpose.

The Motion concerning vacant plots of land owned
by the Council read:

This Council noting:

1] That there is great pressure on the need to
expand Ethekwini's rates base and to improve
service delivery;
2] The continued existence of vacant plots of
counci-owned land ought to be appraised;
3] In many instances these undeveloped plots are
overgrown and serve as havens for criminal
elements;
4] Their unkempt state also encourages illegal
dumping;
5] The sale of these plots would be greatly to the
advantage of the Council in that:
a] a cash benefit would be realised;
b] Council resources would be spared the job of
maintenance;
c] development would improve the rates base;
d] development would bring about community
upliftment.

Hereby resolves:

That Council calls upon the Executive Committee
to investigate the feasibility of selling off plots of
vacant land that are surplus to the needs of the
Municipality and reports its findings in due course.

Essentially the motion called for the conducting of
an audit of vacant land within the Metro so that
surplus plots could be sold off. Manifold benefits
could accrue from such sales: cash in the coffers,
less hassle for DSW and Parks & Gardens in
maintaining these plots, local job creation as a
result of development of the plots. Basically a
win-win situation all round at a time of economic
hardship which would see the Metro stimulating
the economy whilst simultaneously streamlining
its expenses and finances.

Instead of approving this sensible piece of policy,
the ANC proposed to rewrite it in a way that
destroyed its purpose.  They proposed that all
undeveloped land in the Metro - including green
lung areas like parks - be appraised for the
construction of low cost housing.

The effect of such a policy would be the total
reverse of what was originally intended. The value
of properties adjacent to low cost housing
developments
would plummet, shrinking the rates base in the
process.

Once again the ANC in Ethekwini municipality have
demonstrated their attachment to discredited
socialist policies.
Not only are they politically bereft of new ideas but
they strive wantonly to sabotage attempts by the
DA at better governance.

*************************************
SOLUTION TO CONTAINER TRUCK MENACE  IN
BLUFF RD IS HEIGHT RESTRICTION STRUCTURES

In the wake of the carnage that occurred on Bluff
Rd on August 9 when a container truck rampaged
through three robots, killed one person and injured
two people, destroyed three cars, two concrete
street poles, a water hydrant, part of the staircase
of a railway pedestrian bridge and disrupted road
and rail traffic as a result of where it came to rest,
residents are demanding  the speedy  resolution
of the menace of container trucks entering the Bluff.








In addressing that demand, Bluff ward councillor
Duncan Du Bois is to propose that the Council' s
Executive Comittee
examines the feasibility of constructing two height
restriction structures on Bluff Rd: one in the north
near the Bayhead route
intersection and the other in the south near the
intersection with Edwin Swales VC Dve.
' This will prevent container trucks from using that
section of Bluff Rd altogether. It will also deny
access to other large vehicles which make
deliveries to shops. However, those vehicles can
use Tara Rd to reach their destinations on the
Bluff,' said Cllr Du Bois.












' I must commend my son, Gregory, for this very
practical and effective  idea of height restriction. I
see no reason why the Ethekwini Transport
Authority will not accept it as the solution to our
dilemma. After all, policing measures and signage
have proved quite useless in prohibiting
large trucks from using Bluff Rd. In fact the trucking
menace on the Bluff has grown exponentially as
container cargoes handled by the port have
increased,' he said.













Cllr Du Bois extended his condolences to those
bereaved as a result of Saturday's horror smash
and wished a speedy recovery to those who were
injured. ' I should also like to commend the Metro
Police, the  Fire and Disaster unit, SAPS and the
medical units who were on the scene for their
professionalism in dealing with the carnage that
had taken place. This dreadful event is surely the
last straw as regards the trucking menace that has
plagued Bluff Rd for over a decade,' he said.

********************************
TRUCKING MENACE - BLUFF RD

In the wake of the carnage that occurred on Bluff Rd
on August 9 when a container truck rampaged
through three robots, killed one person and injured
two people, destroyed three cars, two concrete
street poles, a water hydrant, part of the staircase of
a railway pedestrain bridge and disrupted rail traffic
as a result of where it came to rest, I am of the view
that the speedy  resolution to the menace of
container trucks entering the Bluff is overdue.
[ see: Sunday Tribune, August 10, p.5].

Proposed Notice of Motion:

This council noting that:

1] Although container trucks are prohibited entering
Bluff Rd from Edwin Swales VC Dve they do so with
impunity.  Attempts by Metro Police to deter
container trucks from using Bluff Rd have proved
unsuccessful. In fact the volume of container truck
traffic illegally using the Bluff Rd route has grown
exponentially with the increase of container cargoes
handled by the port.

2] At a meeting of the Ethekwini council on January
31, 2007 at which a motion was tabled calling for
intervention on the issue of container trucking in
Edwin Swales VC Dve and Bluff Rd, the question
was asked as to how many fatalities would need to
occur
before the Ethekwini Transport Authority addressed
the issue. That motion, which was turned down by
the Council, followed considerable interaction with
Council officials which included the lodging of a
petition, a public meeting, an on-site meeting and
the exchange of correspondence.

3] In the wake of the carnage that occurred on Bluff
Rd on August 9 when a container truck rampaged
through three robots, killed one person and injured
two people, destroyed three cars, two concrete
street poles, a water hydrant,
part of the staircase of a railway pedestrain bridge
and disrupted rail traffic as a result of where it came
to rest, a  resolution to the menace of container
trucks entering the Bluff is urgently needed.

Accordingly,  this motion calls on the Executive
Committee to investigate and to report back to
Council by September 23 on the
feasibility of constructing two height restriction
structures on Bluff Rd - one near the intersection
with Edwin Swales VC Dve and the other
near the Iran Rd / Bayhead intersection so as to
prevent container trucks from accessing that
residential section of Bluff Rd.

Cllr D L Du Bois
Ward 66
Bluff
BLUFF TO MAKE ITS VOICE HEARD

' All roads lead to the Bluff National Golf Club on
Thursday, August 21 when the collective emotional
outrage of Bluff residents against the presence of
container trucks on the Bluff is expected to
underline fresh demands for a permanent ban of
this menace to life, limb and property,' says Bluff
ward councillor Duncan Du Bois.

' It is tragic that it has taken the death of Elaine
Thomas to reach this state of resolve. But there is
a grass roots determination
that there can be no repeat of the events of August
9. The residential status of the Bluff must be
enforced. The  Bluff cannot be held
hostage by the boom in container traffic. That
message needs to go out to City Hall as the
custodian of our roads and also to
Portnet and Transnet. Their leasing of land to
container depots on the Bluff's doorstep is directly
contributing to the misuse of Bluff Rd
by container trucks. Elaine Thomas might be alive
today if those parastatals had channelled some of
their huge profits into the construction of a  link
road between Edwin Swales VC Dve and Bayhead
Rd. and thereby kept container trucks off the Bluff,'
said Cllr Du Bois.

' Thursday's meeting needs to be seen as a
declaration of war by Bluff residents against the
menace of container trucks not just
on the Bluff but also in Edwin Swales VC Dve,
Clairwood  and beyond. These behemoths of
death  routinely exceed the speed limit, jump red
robots and have no respect for other road users.
August 21 needs to be a watershed in our
lives from which decisive measures
emanate to bring this menace under
permanent control and regulation,' he said.

The meeting starts at 7pm
at the
Bluff National Golf Club in Club Rd.
BLUFF ANGER AT TRUCKING
MENACE BOILS OVER

' More than 400 people  packed the Bluff Golf Club
on Thursday night (August 21) to express their
anger at the death and destruction caused by the
container trucking menace on the Bluff.
But they left even more angry and frustrated as a
result of the vague and hollow responses by Metro
Manager Dr Mike Sutcliffe to the situation,' says
Bluff ward councillor Duncan Du Bois.

' The hostility directed at Dr Sutcliffe was not
surprising. His excuses as to why requests to
regulate the trucking menace had not been dealt
with and his insistence that matters could not be
handled in isolation from what he termed the
bigger picture, simply do not carry weight with Bluff
residents,' said Cllr Du Bois.

In his address Councillor Du Bois accused Metro
officials including Dr Sutcliffe of playing ' musical
chairs' with the various requests that had been
made for intervention in the trucking menace. Dr
Sutcliffe took exception to Cllr Du Bois' claim that
Metro officials were guilty of ' dereliction of duty'
and questioned how a councillor could criticise
the Council of which he is a member.

' If Dr Sutcliffe was less beholden to his political
moorings he would appreciate that a ward
councillor is primarily a representative of the
community that mandated him. As such a ward
councillor is not obliged to tip toe around
officials and remain mute about how they do their
jobs. If the officials in the Ethekwini Transport
Authority were so hard at work and absorbed in the
challenges they face, how is it that they do not
consult ward councillors like myself about what
they are doing to resolve the trucking menace ?  
Why is it that I have had to ask the Metro Manager
to galvanise them into even responding to my
queries,' said Du Bois.

He suggested two courses of action that could
bring about a permanent solution to the illegal
presence of container trucks on the Bluff. These
involved the strategic placement of height
restriction structures in Bluff Rd to compel
container trucks to use the South Coast Rd /
Bayhead route and the construction by Transnet of
a connecting road from Edwin Swales VC Dve
through to the Bayhead road.

' Whilst the present crackdown on container trucks
by Metro Police is commendable, regrettably it is
not sustainable for budgetary and staffing
reasons. Also the idea of using CCTV cameras to
monitor the movement of container trucks is
hamstrung by the fact that many of the cameras do
not work or have not been connected or are not
routinely monitored,' he
said.

Cllr Du Bois has tabled a Notice of Motion on the
issue of container trucks on the Bluff for the
meeting of the Ethekwini Council scheduled for
August 28.

' Overall  the Golf club meeting illustrated that the
time for procrastination and excuses about the
truck menace has past.  The collective anger and
outrage of Bluff residents has now reached boiling
point.  That is the message Dr Sutcliffe received in
no uncertain terms. If decisive measures are now
not forthcoming, unfortunately  we may see
vigilante acts occurring,'  said
Cllr Du Bois.
SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN
MARCH TO A PERMANENT
TRUCKING SOLUTION ON THE
BLUFF

One week after 400 Bluffites turned up at
the Golf Club and not only made the City
Manager Dr Sutcliffe aware of their
anger about container trucks on the Bluff
but also demanded action, it seems their
efforts have been rewarded.

At the August 29 meeting of the Ethekwini
Council a Notice of Motion put forward by
Cllr Duncan Du Bois calling for
an investigation by the Executive
Committee into the feasibility of placing
height restriction structures at strategic
points in Bluff Rd, was approved
unanimously by the ANC-dominated
Council. The Executive Committee must
report back by September 23.

' This is a real turnaround. Until today the
ANC have been routinely rejecting every
attempt at better governance put forward
by the DA.
I can only ascribe their decision to support
my motion as stemming from the pressure
Sutcliffe felt at the August 21 meeting at the
Golf Club. So, well done, Bluffites. Just
shows what closing ranks and manifesting
solidarity can translate into,' says Cllr Du
Bois.

'It is of note that there are height restriction
structures on Coedmore Rd  from Bellair
leading into  the Stainbank nature reserve.
They were put there about
two years ago by the Council and have
proved 100% effective in stopping trucks
using that route to reach South Coast Rd,'
he said.