Two Bits – 26 February 2016

Driving to gym in Ballito from Shaka’s Rock on Monday at 5am, I was a little alarmed to see a large fire ahead of me on the Shakas’ Rock bridge, what looked like burning tyres and stacked branches across the road. Methinks “Oh, oh!” and I ‘gooi a U-ie’ and head back home for my camera.
On my return I tried to get onto the N2 at Salt Rock, but saw vehicles driving back up the southbound lanes with hazards flashing, so I drove on to the R102 and took a dirt road behind Dolphin Coast Waste that brought me up to the N2.
Long story short, I watched the mob from Shaka’s Head dancing, shouting and singing on top of the Shaka’s Rock bridge from the comparative safety of 300 metres as they burned tyres and branches across the middle of the N2.
After 30 minutes or so a riot truck arrived and policemen and women, some in riot gear, walked towards the crowd. It takes some nerve to walk towards an out-of-control mob. Nothing seemed to be happening and I presume they were trying to talk some sense into the crowd, but after a while there was a fusillade of loud bangs as they fired rubber bullets. That got the mob’s attention and they ran like hell in all directions.
Ballito contractor Mark Kavonic had a narrow escape. He drove into Shaka’s Head as normal to pick up his workmen, and on the way out he ran into a barricade of burning branches across the road. When he braked, people materialised from the dark and tried to haul his men off the bakkie.
“I just put my foot down and drove straight through the branches and everything,” said a visibly shaken Mark.
The real target of all this public protest was ANC councillor Jethro Banda, who was not so lucky. His car and house were burned down by the mob and he was lucky to escape with his life. A few residents told me that the discontent with Banda had been growing for some time. He has been the sitting councillor there for a long time, 20 years or more, so I’m curious to know what has changed to make residents vent their discontent in this way. Let’s see what our reporters can dig up.
But I have a feeling that this year’s local government elections are going to be more difficult than ever. Although a date hasn’t been announced, the current thinking is sometime in August. That’s six long months away – a very long time if people are taking to the streets in February!
People are gatvol of the never-ending promises trotted out by the politicians at every turn. Promises of housing, services, water, electricity, roads – you name it – that are very distant from the truth. Companies awarded contracts to provide these services go broke or disappear with monotonous regularity. Surely by now the municipality must learn to manage these contracts. By all means help the little guy get a break, but it is the municipality’s job to ensure that public money is well spent. Dole out the money piecemeal, only when each measureable stage is reached. If the politicians did their jobs properly, their promises would not be coming back to bite them.
There was an N2 blockade at Umvoti toll plaza a few weeks ago, and this one is probably a copycat, but these were only two among thousands across the nation. Since 2008 more than two million people have taken to the streets in protest every year.
I do wonder at the mentality of those who tried to burn down parts of the business park next to Shaka’s Head. What do they hope to achieve by destroying businesses that provide jobs?
All eyes this week will be on finance minister Pravin Gordhan when he unveils his budget on Wednesday. It is the fervent wish of right-thinking South Africans that he will provide hope for economic growth, for jobs and find a way of backing away from the precipice. He can’t work miracles, but hopefully can undo some of the damage wreaked by our undistinguished president.
Any hope that Zuma might have taken his punishment over the Nene debacle was surely dispelled on Monday when he defended appointing Des van Rooyen (who?) finance minister because he was “the best man for the job”.
What did he mean by that? That Gordhan is second best? Would that be because Gordhan is standing up to the Zuphta empire, which it seems is what cost Nene his job.

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Last year I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven’t met yet.