It might make good television to see the minister of police with legions of police, SA Revenue Service and immigration officials in tow, looking out for all sorts of criminal activities in the central business district (CBD) of Johannesburg, as he did this past weekend.
Citizens might also feel good watching such on television or reading about it in their newspapers. But in fact, it does very little in the fight against crime.
In this escapade, Bhekokwakhe Cele and his entourage were looking for illegal immigrants, counterfeit goods, expired foodstuffs, sellers without permits, illegal shebeens, hijacked buildings, drugs and more.
They found a lot of these undesirable and illegal things and boasted about their achievements. Yet we don’t need this razzmatazz to fight these ills. We need state functionaries in various fields to do their work on a routine basis.
We should have health inspectors to routinely check all establishments to ensure they are clean, hygienic and do not deal in foodstuffs that are substandard or expired.
This should be as normal and boring as refuse removal or the painting of lines on the streets. They should not require a minister or cameras.
Home affairs officials should routinely ensure that we do not have illegal migrants in the country, let alone having them selling stuff on the streets. Those of us who have lived in the neighbouring countries of Botswana and Zimbabwe will tell you that it would be unheard of to see a minister walking the streets checking on hawkers, illegal or not.
In fact, in the two countries mentioned, non-citizens are not allowed to engage in any economic activity without the say-so of the authorities. As a result, you will never come across a non-citizen selling trinkets, fruit, sweets or clothes on the streets.
And even so, you will not see a minister hitting the streets to enforce the relevant laws and regulations. Officials simply do it without fanfare or publicity.
It is simply jaw-dropping for some of us to hear the minister talking about his discovery of hijacked buildings in the centre of Johannesburg that are in turn used for various nefarious activities. A building is a huge immovable object associated with so many laws, regulations, and obligations. How come it needs a minister to discover its “hijacking” during a walk-about? Sometimes one wonders how ridiculously inept we seem to be as South Africans.
A week before the minister raided the CBD, he was in Riverlea to attend to the problem of illegal mining in the area. Residents had been complaining bitterly about the zama zamas walking about carrying rifles in their neighbourhood. It took one nasty night of shootings that left bodies in the field to bring the minister to Riverlea. Visuals that emerged revealed the large scale of the illegal mining activities in the area, including settlements, holes, tunnels and rudimentary mineral processing equipment.
This prompted somebody to remark that anybody can come into South Africa and set up a huge military base and we would be none the wiser. The minister announced the deployment of police and promised fire and brimstone against the culprits. It is the right sound… but ineffectual.
How many Riverleas can the minister visit? Where are the local police, the intelligence services, and the officials in the department of minerals? How many CBDs across South Africa can the minister raid to flush out illegal immigrants, counterfeit goods, expired foodstuffs and medication, illegal shebeens and street sellers without permits?
We don’t need razzmatazz. We require officials in the different departments and municipalities to do their jobs as a matter of course, routinely.
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• Mangena is a former cabinet minister and former president of Azapo
