So you thought roads were built for you?

Dear Tax Paying Citizen,

I’m sure that like everyone else who contributes substantially to the South African treasury, you thought that your money was being spent by government to build, upgrade and maintain public roads for your benefit.

Wrong!

Willies Mchunu the Transport MEC for the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province has just confirmed without actually meaning to, that public roads are built for speeding vehicles fitted with flashing blue lights, which among other things transport Members of government and other connected people. According to this government goon, ordinary motorists on public roads are to be merely tolerated, and will be guilty of violating the National Road Traffic Act if they do not make way for the blue-light-brigade.

Off course, I need not tell you that Willies Mchunu belongs to the ANC who are not averse to aping the African continent’s most despised dictators.

So let’s delve deeper into the other privileged beneficiaries of our national roads. There’s the traffic police and their cars with flashing blue lights. The roads were just made to support their talent for bribery and corruption. And let’s not forget how the levying of traffic fines, which takes precedence over traffic safety, contributes handsomely to the local coffers. How can we forget the South African Police Service? They also speed around in their official vehicles, blue lights flashing, rushing to their next act of brutality. Yes, they’re becoming quite adept at beating up and even killing members of the public.

But that’s not all. The construction of roads is a very lucrative business for well-connected contractors who tender for multi-million Rand projects; well-connected to the government that is. And let’s not forget the toll roads which are proliferating like a bad rash. Those who run the companies constructing and managing these blood-sucking operations are without doubt well-connected to government.

They’re all rolling in the dough, while you cough up the taxes, get forced out of their way on the roads your taxes built, get shot at by thugs masquerading as their bodyguards, and even prosecuted to add insult to injury.

Yes, my dear taxpayer, the roads were built by government for government…and their cronies.

Pigheaded cops, line-jumping at the feeding trough and peas in a pod…

It’s been another amusing day in a beautiful sunny South Africa; although some might say bemusing.

First off the line to ignominy are our traffic police who never fail to produce an amusing moment for motorists, especially when we find them camped under a shady tree or behind a bush or other similar place of concealment. In these instances, one can’t help but wonder why it takes up to four officers to man a single speed detection camera; some of us may even speculate on that famous how-many joke that is inherent in this situation.

However, the reason for amusement today is because it seems that the traffic police are still hell-bent on pursuing the anti-hero known as PigSpotter, who gives away the positions of their shady camping sites, to fellow motorists on Twitter. This act of utter pigheadedness in the face of mounting opposition and utter derision by the general public, casts serious doubt about the overall mentality prevalent in the law enforcement agencies, that supposedly serve us. The disingenuous attempts by the police to paint PigSpotter as someone who encourages speeding and breaking the law, is highly contemptible. It’s more probable (and seems to be understood by the vast majority of his supporters), that PigSpotter’s defiance of those who supposedly protect and serve, is a just a cry for more honest and respectful policing.

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The ANC Youth League’s demand for more youth representation within the ANC’s top leadership has been given the cold shoulder by delegates at the National General Council (NGC) meeting currently taking place in Durban. It’s apparent that the Youth League’s use of the term “generational mix” might have confused the top brass. Had they used the more commonly understood phrase ” we are tired of waiting in line and demand to jump the queue so that we also get our turn at feeding at the trough,” I believe their demands may have received more consideration.

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Our President Jacob Zuma, in spite of the numerous revelations of overt cronyism within his administration, today announced that “politics and business go together.” He encouraged the business community to court ANC party leaders, saying:

Once business gets closer to a ruling party, you must know that things are going very well in the country…

I am sure that I’m not the only one with raised eyebrows. We’re not so sure about things going well for the country, but there is ample evidence that things are going extremely well for the President, his family and assorted cronies.

If those statements raised a few eyebrows, the following admission is certain to confirm the fears of all those who contend that South Africa is going the way of Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe:

I don’t think we have seen anything of this nature in any other conference of any size or description. Only in the ANC.

Actually, Mr. Pres. we’ve seen this in every tin-pot dictatorship around the world. The only difference with the ANC is that you brazenly advertise and boast about it.

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And the final giggle for today is aimed at the Azanian Youth Organisation (AZAYO). Haven’t heard of them? Don’t worry; neither has anyone who is not a member. 

Tomorrow is Heritage Day in South Africa, and has been celebrated for a while now, also as Braai Day (barbecue day). However these party-poopers from AZAYO don’t want White people in particular to celebrate by barbecuing. Seems they think that the White section of the population hijacked this important day to barbecue.

Really guys; this envy is most pathetic. If you ask Julius Malema’s ANC Youth League nicely, I’m sure they will be only too pleased to invite you around to one of the barbecues they will most certainly be hosting.

Oinck if you think the cops have gone ape shit over PigSpotter

Over the last few days, the South African traffic police have become highly visible, and in great numbers too. I’ve never seen them in such a frenzy before. Seems that the guy who uses the handle @PigSpotter to tweet about the police road blocks [he has since stopped tweeting about road blocks and exposes only speed traps] and speed trapping positions have really got to them.

Well, praise the great big sky fairy, hallelujah; somebody needed to get these tubs of lard out of their lazy, disrespectful, bribery-infested, revenue-collecting comfort zones, and back to the real world of traffic law enforcement. Yes, that’s right, it’s now common knowledge that the daily actions of the traffic cops has little to do traffic law enforcement, but a whole lot to do with generating revenue for the despicable bureaucrats who piss away our taxes; and off course it gives them a chance to throw their weight around too.

But, hold your excitement; the cops may be in this panicked state of activity because they have declared all-out war on PigSpotter for disrupting the utopian existence they were enjoying up to this point. I think they are shell-shocked; stunned that one individual, with a little help from the amazing world of modern technology, dared to take them on, and expose the rot that had set in. And now, they are going to inconvenience and harass the rest of us (just like they always do), in their contemptible efforts to arrest PigSpotter.

I’m not surprised the cops have decided to resort to using force to answer their critics. The petty intention to arrest and prosecute PigSpotter confirms that they have not learnt anything from this historic event that played out over the past week. They are still oblivious to the fact that the disrespect that the public show towards them, is a direct response to the disrespect and contempt that they have for the people they are supposed to serve. These pitiful blobs need to realize that we don’t appreciate the speed-ticketing extortion racket they are running, and we don’t like the abuse of authority hiding behind that ugly uniform and badge.

PigSpotter has shown us that power belongs to the people; we don’t have to tolerate the hypocrisy, exploitation and tyranny from men in uniform or sleazy politicians in pin-stripe suits. It’s also quite plain from all the media commentary, that the public are nearly 100% behind him. I don’t buy the protestations from the Justice Project SA (JPSA) that the police are victims (???) too, and I’m sure the majority don’t either.

I’m hoping that PigSpotter provides the impetus needed for the people to take back the power that was guaranteed to them in the Constitution, but so nauseatingly swindled away from us by the suits and their enforcers in uniform.

Our Swinest!!!

Despicable pigs! Low-life scumbags! Fat-arsed, speed-camera-hugging, slobs! Intellectually challenged assholes! Bully boy, power-abusing lackeys who hide behind their badges. I’m talking about South Africa’s finest; or should I say swinest. Our very own traffic police!

In most countries around the world, they’re highly respected. They are upholders of the law. Bred to protect and serve. They’re proudly declared as the finest. Not here though. In a country where the elected politicians strive to reach new levels of immorality, ineptitude and  crass stupidity, the custodians of road safety are only too keen to emulate them.

In the past, I’ve alluded to their criminal behaviour; even dedicated posts to their laziness and ineptitude. I’ve painted them as mere collectors of revenue for their Metro Council employers. And rightly so, too. These blobs in blue have no intention of policing or ensuring road safety; they’re just there to impose fines. Fines, that Metro Councils need desperately to keep the machines of bureaucratic ineptitude and wanton wastefulness, forever turning; but more importantly, to feed the greed and lust for power of the masters of these public institutions.

But today, my exasperation with these contemptible dumb-shits has reached an all-time high. While on my way home from work today, I witnessed them doing something really despicable; even more despicable than hiding behind trees, snapping pictures of cars moving safely, but moderately faster than normal. More despicable than causing huge back-ups in peak-hour traffic, by setting up road blocks to catch out motorists defaulting on payment of their traffic fines. These fucking ass-hats were harassing an informal trader on the side of a road near Ruimsig; confiscating and loading his wooden artwork onto the back of a police truck.

I mean, what the hell is going on here? Are the Metro Councils now supplementing their traffic-fine income through the confiscation of the goods of hapless informal traders. I pass this guy every morning, on my way to work and I have not witnessed his trading activities causing any hindrance to the motoring public. Those who do stop to make a purchase or enquiry, do so in the ample space at the side of the road, and without interfering with normal traffic. I can see no reason to stop the informal traders activities, apart from those already listed above.

The law enforcement agencies in South Africa have been known to complain that they are not respected. And they never will be, for good reason too. How can the public respect these agencies when they have no respect for the public? Or even the badges they wear?

Am I being unduly harsh on the traffic police. Perhaps it’s unfair to the few good cops we still have…

Travelling Alone – Part 1

A third speeding fine, accumulated while on my recent road to Cape Town, was posted to me on Friday last week, and it reminded me that I had not quite got down to writing about it (my road trip that is), as indicated in an earlier post.

It’s not procrastination or laziness; I’ve been busy upgrading my video editing software and catching up on some developments on my project at work, among other things. It has also become a nasty habit for me to get distracted by anything and everything that’s going on elsewhere on the internet; which inevitably leads me on diverse tangents to my original bearing.  However, so far I’ve managed to stay away from Twitter and am trying really hard to wean myself off Facebook. And if I can only find out how, I’ll get shot of Plaxo too.

Back to those traffic tickets. Most law-abiding motorists would be hard pressed to regard them as real traffic violations. I mean, I was barely over the (60Km/h and 80Km/h) speed limits on all of them, and I do make a concerted effort to not drive fast. Anyway driving slowly is obligatory these days as I nurse my four-and-a-half-year old Peugeot sedan along, to prevent anything further from breaking. You see, Peugeot in South Africa, charges the most outrageous prices for parts, while it takes forever to replace (note, I said replace because it seems the technicians have not been trained to repair), and to add insult to injury, the service you get is really wretched.

Again, about those so-called speeding violations; the damned traffic police in this country are just lazy, fat-arsed, bush-hiding, camera-hugging, intellectually-challenged, revenue collectors, who think that wearing their badge and jack-boots, gives them power over ordinary motorists. And I’m just another poor sucker who hasn’t got the time or inclination to go to court, defend myself and expose this revenue-generating ponzi scheme masquerading as the policing of road safety.

Ah, I digress yet again. But we’ll get to the road trip in Part 2…hopefully.

Technology Making South African Traffic Cops Lazier, Fatter, Slower

Remember the days when lazy-ass traffic cops used to hide behind bushes, manning those old-style speed detecting devices with wires leading from it and spread out across the road, at some point ahead of them. When a speeding vehicle drove over the wires across the road, it registered your speed on the trapping device, which if exceeded the limit, would trigger the cop to jump out from behind the bush to flag you down and issue a speeding ticket. Can you remember how many fat fecks; I mean traffic cops, there were back in those days?

Well these days, the traffic cops are still lazy-ass swines who hide behind bushes and billboards or under trees; only, now you will notice that most of them are distinctly larger in girth than I remember from the old days. At this point, it must be pointed out that the bushes, billboards or tress must provide shade which is absolutely necessary to protect traffic-cop-blubber from wilting in the hot South African sun.

In the new South Africa, the devices being used to detect speeding have become more sophisticated; they now record your transgression on film. Which means that the traffic cops need just sit next to the device and keep it company, while it does all the work. No need to jump up from their comfortable position in the shade, and run 10 meters to flag down speeding motorists all day, as the captured film has just got to be downloaded at the end of a successful day trapping (extorting from?)motorists, and a speeding ticket issued to the offender (unlucky bastard) through the post. There are even fixed cameras mounted at strategic revenue generating positions that don’t need to be manned at all, which feeds the pictures electronically to control points. The net effect is that traffic cops don’t get no exercise anymore, and voila! A happy, fat traffic police service.

They now have more time to do important things such as meet in small groups near intersections with broken-down traffic lights to discuss the latest ass-fattening technology, or catch up on who is meeting the revenue generation targets for local councils, blissfully oblivious to the chaos ensuing at the intersection in question. Or maybe troll the local shopping mall parking lot, or even catch up on some shopping; why not?

The most noticeable thing about the traffic police is that they make very little effort to warn offenders, and educate them against bad driving behaviour, by just issuing a warning ticket. They are also reluctant to actually organise and man notorious traffic hot-spots on a daily basis. I’ll concede that some hot-spots are manned, but not in the daily organized manner required by the driving public. The lame excuses of personnel and vehicle shortages don’t wash, when you see them posted behind shady bushes, in places which are more amenable to revenue generation, rather than for being any danger to motorists. Traffic policing has become a rather convenient excuse to generate revenue, and speeding the alter of expediency.

The following photo shows some of the ways being devised to disguise the speed trapping devices. It smacks of laziness, and reinforces the generally accepted rationale of revenue generation by deceit. If you see or suspect one these bins being used nefariously, report it to the local refuse removal company (or vagrant) for collection. Lets see the cops chase after their speeding devices for a change.

Cameras, Revenue Generators and Automobiles

Earlier this afternoon, while at a local shopping mall, I noticed a duo of female traffic officers on foot, issuing traffic tickets to vehicles parked in the (private) parking area adjoining the mall. I stopped to observe for a while because I hadn’t seen this variety of traffic officer in quite a while. In the old days we used to refer to female traffic officers as “meter maids” because they would ticket vehicles parked next to expired parking meters on city streets.

 

I approached them to enquire under what municipal by-law they were authorised to issue traffic fines on private property (the shopping mall is presumably private property). It was obvious they didn’t know, and one lady indicated that because the entrance to the mall did not have boom gates, it was deemed an extension of municipal property and thus subject to the jurisdiction of the local Metro Police. By this logic, the land attached to my home could also be regarded as municipal property because I do not have boom gates installed at the entrance, either. Not satisfied, I left to continue my shopping, and when I re-emerged from the mall, about half an hour later, the “meter maids” had disappeared.

 

When I got home, I sent a mail off to the Mayors office enquiring about the legality of issuing traffic fines on private property and vented my anger. To quote myself, I wrote “I wish to also state that I find this activity of the Metro Police extremely reprehensible since they are clearly ‘lazy’ or incompetent or both in chasing the real threats to road safety, but are content to ‘camp’ at shopping malls chasing easy targets.”

 

My anger at the behaviour of our Metro Police is shared by practically everyone in this country. Daily we observe these fat pigs sitting comfortably under conveniently located shady trees, pointing speed cameras at passing motorists, while ignoring the traffic chaos caused by faulty traffic lights, a few blocks down the road. Their first priority is to issue as many traffic fines as possible. Traffic safety is not even secondary; it is an irritation that gets in the way of their daily siestas. That they are primarily employed to generate revenue for the local Metro Councils, is a well known source of mirth for the public.

 

And it just gets worse with the advent of newer technology. As the sophistication of the camera equipment they use to trap motorists, improves, their mobility correspondingly decreases. They no longer have to place these twin strips of wire (connected to a trapping unit) on the roads and then jump up from their seated position to flag down an offending motorist. No, these days all they need to do is sit comfortably under a shaded tree and the trapping equipment captures a photograph of the speeding vehicle. There are even fixed position cameras mounted on poles at various sites along motorways, which presumably frees the traffic pigs to enjoy longer siestas elsewhere. As a result of this decreased mobility, it’s not hard to notice how the girths of most traffic pigs have steadily increased.

 

The other irritation for motorists these days apart from the constant traffic, is the road blocks set up frequently by the Metro Police (read traffic pigs) to find those who have defaulted on payment of traffic fines. And the amazing thing is that these bastards don’t even try to hide the fact that they are stopping vehicles, invariably causing huge traffic congestion, just to look for motorists with outstanding payments against their names. The expenditure on the technology, manpower and vehicles to perform these exercises is an abomination and a criminal waste of taxpayers money.

 

Are we going to get real traffic officers back? Nah, I don’t believe so. Using these dimwits for revenue generation is proving to be a real rosy deal for the powers that be…