 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| User login | ||
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| Navigation | ||
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| Who's online | ||
|---|---|---|
| There are currently 0 users and 1 guest online. | ||
|
|
|
|
|
| Who's new | ||
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| Videos | ||
|---|---|---|
All our videos go up on the Durban Scouts YouTube channel, check it out:
| ||
|
|
Metrobeat
|
|
|
|
| Metrobeat | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Submitted by capdog on Friday, September 8, 2006 - 06:26 | Politics | ||
Please don't get me wrong – I like reading great things about the city, and hearing what the councillors are up to, but it worries me that the eThekwini municipality finds it necessary to put together an entire publication to seemingly drive the happiness into our skulls. Is it a knee-jerk reaction to the conventional media, who are always accused of publishing bad news and ignoring the good? Or is the Metrobeat mag simply eThekwini's way of pacifying us, when other evidence seems to indicate that they're not doing their jobs properly? Let's take a look at this month's magazine, in which Michael Sutcliffe writes his column “20/20 Vision”. He's the city manager in case you didn't know, and in his piece he talks about how Durban was voted SA's most courteous and helpful city, and follows with this: “Our difficulty though is that sometimes we don't translate this into positively promoting our city. Some seven people get mugged out of over 3500 delegates to a recent conference and the media seem to get into siege mode: headlines scream out for a week about one Mexican delegate who was mugged. Whilst one mugging is one too many and we must address this, we also seem to go overboard in running down our city and not looking for the positives.”
Don't make out like it's “just a few muggings” or try and offset the impact of crime by suggesting we think about how courteous the good citizens are. We know that law-abiding people of Durban are great; it's the rapists, hijackers, housebreakers and murderers whose manners I find a bit lacking. He continues by talking about the Durban film industry, and how all the various departments, including SAPS and Road Traffic Inspectorate, make exceptional effort to accommodate filmmakers. Great! How about them making a big effort to sort out crime before rolling out the red carpet to film stars? Crime in Durban is so far out of control that it's become incredibly tedious to write or even read about it. And yet, when I hear of my good friend being hijacked and held hostage for three hours, or my parent's house being cleaned out by burglars, I feel the overwhelming need to direct the anger at eThekwini. The next article in the Metrobeat comes from the mayor, Obed Mlaba. He starts off by quoting Fidel Castro (hmmm... off to a shaky start there, Obie), but then continues to produce an article which can only be described as rubber-stamped, generalised politician-speak, laced with acronyms and overall an incredibly pointless read. Some gems that are thrown around haphazardly, for your enjoyment: Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA) (I pronounce it Ass-kissa)
“South Africa has not yet taken the matter of skills to a skills revolution level.” Huh? Skills revolution level? Like, revolution, as in the French Revolution? I wasn't aware that there was a specific 'level' called 'revolution' which we were aiming for. I thought it would be simple – create a crime free, safe environment for people to live in, then attract skilled people nationally and from abroad into Durban, so that jobs are created for those without skills who can then learn the tricks of trade. I didn't understand this 'revolution level' he was talking of, so I did a Google search, and low and behold it emerges that the entire last paragraph of his column is actually a direct quote of Phumzile Mlambo-Ncguka's speech! Click here for link. Was I onto something? I searched Google for words from the preceding paragraph, and what do you know! The entire second-last paragraph is word-for-word taken from a speech by Mbhazima Shilowa, April 2005. Search this link for the opening words "we are mindful of the fact". I would not be surprised if I found out the entire column was a mish-mash of other people's work. What a puppet old Obie has turned out to be! My dear Mayor, instead of regurgitating national government policies word-for-word from other's speeches, let's hear what YOU are personally doing to sort out the problems in the city. For let's face it, if Durban really was a bed of roses, we wouldn't need a Metrobeat magazine to cheer us up, now would we? The rest of the magazine tells of the Soccer World Cup, a festival called Celebrate Durban and gives reviews on all our favourite restaurants like Spiga and Taco Zulu. All good and well, but will my car still be parked where I left it after attending this festival in the CBD? Will a gang of armed savages storm into the restaurant where I'm eating and attack me and my friends, as has happened far too many times in the past? Will my house get broken into by criminals who rape, murder and steal? It's time you guys dropped this silly propaganda act, the people who read the Metrobeat are not tourists. We live here, and it's painfully obvious what's going on in this city. Fix it, dammit, it's your job! | |||
|
|
||
|
|
|
| Search | ||
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Poll | ||
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| Recent comments | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
|
|
|
|
|
| Links | ||
|---|---|---|
Decay Clothing - rad locally designed gear. Kablooey Studios! - for websites, graphics, media and animation! | ||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I emailed Michael Sutcliffe and the editor of Metro and pointed out the mayor's plagiarism. This is Michael's response:
This is serious. I will ask Vasantha to investigate and report back to me as it is really not acceptable.
All the best
michael
Have they come back to you with any news? you should get loads of people to email them - make it look like half of DBN realised what a twat he was! lol!
Some people are like a Slinky.....not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.
"I thought it would be simple – create a crime free, safe environment for people to live in, then attract skilled people nationally and from abroad into Durban, so that jobs are created for those without skills who can then learn the tricks of trade."
I currently reside in New Zealand, and I have to say if it wasn't for the crime in Durban (my home town), I would be on the next plane back! And yes it is very simple! stop the crime and you will see skilled people flooding back into this country.
Hey JustineD, welcome... I like your avatar! How is life in NZ compared to here?
Whats that about mayor? Trying something with a gif sharp!!!
TheLappies
I believe, that while the Metrobeat is a city funded and produced publication it does serve an important. Role you may say propoganda, but then again arent the independent newspapers titles also doing that? South African media are quick to tarnish the countries reputation for sales...maybe that has to do with them being owned by my fellow countrymen in Ireland... i dont know.
While i do not believe crime should be swept under the carpet, i do believe that news media often cause alarm for no reason other than sensationalism, which leads to further scaring society.
There was a major conference in Cape Town recently. did you hear of the international guests that got hijacked at the waterfront? Or had their entire hotel room cleared out? no you didnt, why? because the Cape Media obviously seem to have a more proactive outlook. Muggings are a constant occurance worldwide. Hell i got mugged three times in 3 weeks in Miami and have been on the recieving end in London on many occassions. So dont tell me it is a durban thing. I didnt see the papers in Miami writing about my trio of attacks.
South Africans in general are terribly pessimistic and think it is "cool" to promote bad news. People thrive on it to the verge of making me sick.
So slate the avenues that attempt to portray good news, cause with the boks, proteas and bafana being so terrible we can still be the best whingers in the world.
Disclaimer - These comments are not targeted at serious crime, which is valid and needs to be sorted, but at the points raised against mike sutcliffe's comment, which i fully support.
Regards Obed...tut tut tut...he is mike's puppy anyway.
Hey Dysan, yes you and Mike Sutcliffe are right with respect to SA media, that loves to go overboard on crime. A couple of muggings should not have been so sensationalised.
The objection is to the fact that Sutcliffe has failed to gain my confidence that there's a plan to solve the problem of serious crime. His comments don't make it any better. The fact is, in my opinion, no amount of positives make up for feeling constantly under threat of attack.
I don't take pleasure in slating avenues of good news, I love reading great things about Durban, and there are many, but I object to the conflict of interest when Metrobeat produces what almost amounts to a tourist brochure for the residents of the city.
I would expect government to have a more balanced outlook.
In fact, I challenge Metrobeat to publish a section in the magazine that helps citizens in avoiding serious and violent crime. Maybe crime hotspots? Crime stats? Areas to avoid at night? Emergency numbers and names of representatives? Tips to avoid hi-jacking?
They won't do this of course, but in a dream world it would be nice to see the government actively engaging citizens through their magazine with solutions to crime.
We do have pretty mountains. Let's not forget that... :-)
Nicely done Capdog! Although, I would have been tempted to send that info to the papers, rather than Mike Sutcliffe. Will be very interesting to see if you get any feedback.
I am so behind you on this one doggg. The mayor is such a muppet and as far as the crime is concerned the cops need to get off their arses and do something about it. Have you walked into a police station lately and asked for help? What a farce.
And yo Dysan, bro I live in Morningside and have had 10 cars, yes 10, go missing from outside my house in the past three years. One of mine and one i was looking after that wasnt insured and cost me 35 grand to replace. Not to mention the dude I found in my room, who threatened me with a gun, while I was watching tv one night or the maid and daughter who were tied up next door and if ADT hadnt of showed up they wouldve been raped and probably murdered or the woman on the other side who woke up to theives in her fukin room. For fuck sakes I live in Morningside not Umlazi guy. Any way you look at it the crime is out of control and if something is not done about it we will lose the world cup if not our lives and our loved ones, end of story.
Both my brothers live abroad and me with 2 kids I can assure you I have been thinking about leaving and moving abroad a lot, but I love the pretty mountains... shot deanrichards...
TheLappies
I live abroad, and sometimes the grass isn't greener. Granted, London is possibly the CBD of the WORLD and with that, crime is inevitable, but having said that, I'd still rather raise my proverbial children in South Africa, in particular KZN, so that they don't grow up wanting to be gangsta's like the rude boys here, and those who have been in London will know exactly what I'm talking about. We too have a lot of senseless knife crime, and gun crime, but most of it is bought on by wannabe gangsta's rather than poverty.
Ya get me, bruv?
But I second the capdog for mayor bit! lol!
Some people are like a Slinky.....not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.
Thanks for the support guys! If I was mayor, I'd remove all sin taxes on beer! And wine and spirits!
Lappies> Yep I've been to a police station recently, was dealt with incredibly rudely, typical, all I wanted to do was open a case and was bounced around from station to station and nobody really wanted to hear about it!
DeanR> Yeah, I have sent it to the papers! No reply as yet. :I Will keep you updated when I chase it up with Sutcliffe.
PrincessB> True, London is not a great place to raise kids, but the rest of the UK is quite nice... but, if you're gonna emmigrate, Auz, Canada or NZ is definitely the way to go. Not that I've been to any of them but they must be better than England! (apologies to British peeps)
I've seen more of the UK than most born and bred Brits, and unfortunately the 'gansterism' is like a spreading disease....I blame the dole...lol!
Having said that, I love it in the UK, and at this exact time in my life, I wouldn't live anywhere else! :)
Some people are like a Slinky.....not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.
OK, I know I'm gonna get flak for this but here I go, putting my knob on the block...eish. I've been to the UK and I've seen some crazy shit over there, so yip, I agree with Princess, it's nuts.
But I also firmly believe that there's some responsibility on the part of citizens of a city to engage with their space. Sitting behind a high wall, locked up in a (albeit pretty and comfy) cage is not a life, that's an existence.
Life starts when you get out into your city.
Case in point - we don't really take the time to get to know our neighbours, or our neighbourhood for that matter. Now I'm not advocating some crazy plan to make yourself vulnerable to muggers and rapists, that's crazy. But when last did you park off outside your house, kick back, read the paper as the sun went down? OK, maybe you don't hav to read, maybe you just chill out and watch the passing parade. For many, you more than likely don't have the time, and yes, if you're such a hard grafter that you don't even get to see the sunset, I understand, you can't. But you should do if you can.
It's a fact that empty streets make the best place for skebengas to roam - hey, there's nobody about to tune them 'Fokoff from here ya skebenga bastids!' There's no old ballies with walking sticks giving the uppity twats a klap round the earhole, there's no lightie bike gang circling the dodgy geezer, checking him out and letting him know he isn't welcome. The old ballie has been put in a home. The lighties are inside an airconditioned Playstation room, you guessed it...playing station.
There's no more community. Community is an outdated concept - we've replaced it with Commuter: Home - car - work - car - shop - home. What community?
And when there's no community there's a million gaps that go unplugged. People can't help each other if they don't even know each other's names.
The best detterent against crime is not an armed patrol - the best preventative is a visible presence of citizens excercising their civil right to enjoy their area. When people are hanging out in their street, the skebenga's keep walking. Yes, the streets will be empty at 2a.m. - and that does make for skebenga playtime, but at least if you'd gotten to know your neighbour, he'd jump for you if he heard a scream. At least you'd have his number, and vice versa. That, people, is community. You deserve to live in a secure environment - shit, it's enshrined in the Constitution!
You pay taxes for your area, the city sucks a levy from you but you don't enjoy the full benefit. Why?
Because you choose to sit in front of a TV and veg out on drivel and gaming instead of going outside and saying 'Howdy neighbour! Wassup?'
You never know, you might just enjoy it.
The force is strong with this one...
Wassup dude, some good points, but it is catch-22 unfortunatly!
The best example of community looking out for each other is in the midlands with the farmers. They all know each other by name and have radio contact at all times! If a farmer spots an unknown person poaching or just loitering on a neighbour's land, they radio him/her immediately.
In the suburbs, most people wouldn't even know the number to dial for their neighbours!
What up you fahreak of nature!!!
TheLappies
Whatup Lopez, my oh my, what a pretty avatar you have...all the better to give you nightmares with...
The force is strong with this one...
You Smaak I Smaak we all Smaaak... he he he... see you at six aaaaait..
KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE, BUT YOUR ENEMIES CLOSER... MWHAHAHAHAAAAA
Sutcliffe is a politician disguised as a civil servant, and NEVER gives straight answers. I'll be very surprised if he ever comes back on the Mlaba/plagiarism thing.
Ask him about the Metro police illegal holding cell that he dismantled and had labelled as a "courtesy area" the day the media questioned its legality in May last year. He lied to the media, he lied to Exco and he lied to the ICD, saying it never existed. Now he thinks it's gone away.
Ask him about the traffic fines that his cops set for the Christmas period at almost triple the rate approved by the prosecuting authorities, and ask him how it feels to have to refund all that money to the suckers who actually paid.
Hi Capdog,
Well! what can I say...NZ (South Island, Christchurch) is very safe compared to SA!! We had our first murder for the whole year the other day. A woman was murdered by her boyfriend in her car. I don't live in fear like I used to when in Durban. I also have travelled to a few cities in Aus. For me personally I have found it really hard to adapt to a new country, especially New Zealand as it is very different to SA. At the moment my husband and I are wanting to move to the Sunshine Coast of Australia in Queensland which is very much like the North Coast of Durban...We are hoping that moving here will help with some of the homesickness. We hope and pray everyday that South Africa would do something about the crime, we would love to return to our home, our friends and especially our families...
i liked the comments of that dude that said people are locked up inside their homes and walls. i totally agree. It is scientifically proven that high walls, electric fencing and lack of people on the streets promotes crime, and the crime is more violent because of this. That is why i would never condone living in that environment.
I think that is the prime reason for the level of violence related to crime in SA. The more you try and stop it by cocooning yourself, the more violent the person will become to get at you. So walls and electric fencing basically make u more susceptible
I also totally agree with hedmekanik, it definitely starts with the individual. I dont think community gatherings ever go further than neighbourhood watch meetings (if you even get those anymore). How do we tackle this though? I mean, its all good to have a positive attitude about it, but most people will just wake up tomorrow and carry on as normal. I think government should step in and host a "community growth campaign", you know, like the whole LoveLife thing. Maybe just pop in a public awareness message on the radio or TV once in a while, taking up some of that damned advertising space with a message, without intention of making money. Its very possible.
"The city's latest slaying occurred about 1:30 a.m.
Police said officers responding to reports of gunfire found a 27-year-old man lying on the front porch of a rowhouse."
This is a newspaper extract of yet another horrendous crime.
So Justin, I fully agree with you that crime is totally out of control and there is a need for a crime free society.
But note this, the aforementioned extract appeared not in SA media but an American newspaper, the Baltimore Sun.
Are we then agreed that crime is not a problem unique only to SA?
Is there a need for mass evacuations by people of your ilk to other 'safer' havens?
If you were as patriotic as you would have us believe then why did you run from the problem faced by all your country folk?
Here's a challenge to you bro, get "on the next plane back!" and become part of the (skills shortage and crime) solution instead of being a sideline critic!!!
Will give you the benefit of the doubt, Ndumiso, and assume you do believe that one incident from an American paper equates to crime being a comparable issue over there. So, fair enough, lets compare ourselves to America. The last stats indicated that roughly 20 000 people are murdered in SA annually. These figures were conservative, and morgue figures apparently put the number at around 30 000. In America 16 000 people are murdered every year. Now taking into account the population of the USA is several times that of SA, you are statistically several times more likely to be murdered in SA than in America. You can't tell me that's not a good reason to leave.
Hi Mark
Sorry about the delay in replying to this but we were investigating this issue after your complaint. Obviously we would never condone such an activity, and it’s very difficult to be aware of every word or speech that has ever been written.
It’s also important to realise that the Mayor’s words are not written by him personally, but by a speechwriter. The said speech writer, on investigation, indicated that in her opinion, the content of speeches which reflected party policy were “interchangeable.” We obviously disagree with this entirely and distance ourselves from plagiarism in any form.
We have spoken to the writer in the strongest terms and are assured that this will not occur again in future. Regrettably, new age media like the internet make plagiarism very difficult to control as material can simply be lifted from A to B, and it’s done by everyone from kids doing homework to writers.
We again distance ourselves from this behaviour and ask that you accept our apologies
Regards
Peter Bendheim
Editor
We were right - the mayor IS a puppet!
You know it bro, the dood isnt as clever as someone in his position should be... maybe somewhere along the lines of zuma and wot???
KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE, BUT YOUR ENEMIES CLOSER... MWHAHAHAHAAAAA
Mayors, in almost every world city, are puppets, they are merely the face of the party, and hence why i say that Mike Sutcliffe is more powerful than Obed.
Nice to see they apologising.
On the main issue. I think that urban precincts like Umhlanga Ridge New Town is the means to lower crime. With people all living in close proximity to one another, someone always on the streets, well organised security and a pleasent environment, crime will be lowered. Crime is lowered when there is constant movement of people, they have more chance of being seen, and hence less likely to act.
Well, at least you can't say that we don't sometimes follow what is happening on-line!
I was interested to read the various remarks here as the founder and editor of MetroBeat. I'd like to set a few things straight, and make a few comments.
Firstly, and I hope this never changes (but I suspect it might), MetroBeat is somewhat independent of the Municipality in the sense that it is entirely funded by advertising and membership fees of MetroClub, the other half of MB (and which exists to encourage people to pay their bills on time) So, for starters, and other than my salary (because I do other things in addition to MB) the magazine is not funded by your rates (or mine, for that matter).
Because we operate as a trust, but within the framework of the Council, we have a measure of independence. Certainly, the buck stops with me and I don't need to get stories approved or edited by some higher authority. We do focus generally on the positive aspects of the City, and the OP was right in saying that this is in part in reaction to the gloom of the everyday media.
I'm not at all unhappy to focus on crime issues and other issues from time to time, provided those stories are balanced, sensible and don't have any racist overtones. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to email me to
I'm an ordinary citizen and Durbanite just like most everyone else here. I have some growing concerns about a number of issues in the city, particularly crime and maintenance/grime issues, the latter being particularly noticeable in the central city where I work. Also of great concern to me has been the explosion of graffitti in the city just about everywhere one looks. I'm not reluctant to deal with these issues, because quite honestly I think that a city authority can only do so much, and a lot is up to us as citizens to take care and respect both the people that live here and the expensive amenities that have been built by the city with our money.
Having said that, I must also honestly say that we are not independent to the point where we can just say what we like in MB, so a measure of self censorship does prevail. We are trying to build a culture of "Durbanites" and leave the general doom to the daily media. and there is no shortage of that sort of content. The stories in MetroBeat try to honestly reflect some of people (and places) making a real diffrence in Durban. And we hardly ever do poltical people; most of the folk we profile range from fashion designers to sportsmen?women and so on.
The only people who submit material and are politicians are Mike Sutcliffe and the Mayor. To be honest, I never ever check, edit or change a single word of what they say, unless it is a spelling error. My own view is that they can say what they like, and it is for the readers to judge their comments. I know Sutcliffe writes every word himself, the Mayor is too busy, so as is common for political people just about evrywhere, he gets someone else to write it.
All the other material in MB, with the exception of the letters page, are edited by myself. Almost all letters, unless they are racist or anonymous, are published without censorship, space permitting.
So, feel free to write to me, or to the letters page.
MetroBeat, despite its flaws is an honest publication which I founded nearly eight years ago. We distribute nearly half a million copies and some 93 issues later are in the Top Ten circulating consumer publications in South Africa. You won't find anything similar in Cape Town or JHB...and all sorts of people do get a measure of pleasure from MB, from schoolkids who use the content for projects to people who have discovered new places to explore in and around the city. So, I don't think you should enirely write us off as propaganda!
BTW, this is an interesting and useful website. Keep up the good work.
Peter Bendheim
Editor
Hi Peter, thanks for the kind comments and clarifying those issues!
I hope to see some useful info on what the council is doing to combat crime, and how we as citizens can assist to remedy the problem, because as I've said in the article, it really is reaching breaking point.
OK, I promise we will do something on crime....but just be aware that we have a two month lead time as most magazines do, so yo wont see something immediately, but you have my public committment and promise that we'll do it!
Peter
Got this email from someone who obviously found this article via a Google search:
Good day
We would like to advertise in the Metro beat and I need some assistance, please. Would you mind giving me a shout on the prices that you would charge for advertising in the Metro beat, please?
Ummm.... R20 000 per 1/4 page! Send me the money first! Hehe.
To actually read what they find on the internet is asking way too much... ;)
I definitely agree with most of whats up here and especially with hedmekanik's thoughts on community and enjoying our city but we all have our own tall stories, and they're not all crime and danger...
During the Fifa blahblahblah ceremony a few months back I accompanied my girl down to the playhouse where she was working at the final Philharmonic Orchestra gig for the 07 season. With the jacked security for the Fifa gig I dragged my camera down and spent the time she was working outside taking long-exposure photos of Durban's beautiful City Hall and the streets and passers by etc etc
That is until I was approached by metro police officers in uniform and aggressively harassed and then chased from the area because I had no permission to take photos of publice buildings and I was a so-called security risk.
I obviously didn't realise tourists and delegates would be put off by a young man braving the city streets to take photos in to the evening. How do I as a law-abiding citizen who does everything by the book, right down to paying my tv licence argue with an angry and arrogant cop?
Enraged, I mailed Michael Sutcliffe asking why, and whether I did in fact need permission to shoot public buildings.
I was then CC'd on circulatory mails between him and five or so other bigwigs who had no clue what they were talking about... only to be asked weeks later whether they were security or police and what uniform they were wearing, all information which was in my original mail...
There is no organisation and especially no accountability (Gosh I hate buzzwords like that)
in our local government and while I do read the metrobeat it sickens me that they completely misalign perceptions on serious subjects like crime etc whilst I KNOW that their own officials are both aggressive in the lower ranks and utterly complacent in the upper echelons.
UUUGHGHGHGHG ANGER!
*practice truth, fear nothing
Jeez that would piss me off too. Cops on ego trips are the worst!
Anyway I've realised now after a few exchanges that emailing Mike is a waste of time.
Definitely no accountability!