Governing with honesty
Some people are clowns. They use cheap tricks to fool audiences. They play games of deception. They create illusions to mask reality. They think of themselves only as actors in some sort of spectacle. And they put on masks for audiences. They treat the affairs of this city like a circus. I don't play those games.
I campaigned to be mayor with an honest message of development. In all my years in politics, I have lost count of the number of projects that would transform our society with its historical problems overnight, delivered by those who have been cast as prophets.
Time and again, the people of this city and this country have been presented with smoke and mirrors, always packaged in the grandest terms but miraculously short of detail and timelines. And where has it got us? People are frustrated. They are tired. They are desperate for someone to deal with reality.
Many have reached a point past the traditional cynicism in politics. They have stopped listening to leaders and they have begun looking for answers elsewhere. I campaigned as an honest broker. I have plans to change this city. But they will take time and many of them will only be realised many years from now.
We cannot give people everything they want at once. To deal with the pressures of our history and the demands of the future, we have to be honest. There is no point trying to deal with a problem if you cannot even name it. I have applied this strategy in my engagements as mayor, especially this past week.
In the IDP process, I went to Lwandle to speak about the issues facing that community. I visited Hangberg to see the extent of our solutions being implemented. I met with the leadership of the Khayelitsha Development Forum. And I met with the Kaapstad Sakekamer Bestuur to discuss business needs of the city.
They were a range of different engagements with different people. But what all people have in common is the desire to be treated with respect. They do not want to be treated like children.
There is nothing more frustrating than listening to the storybook rhetoric of some people in council and then having those same people actively organising the disruption of public meetings later on.
If there is one thing people cannot stand more than dishonesty, it is duplicity. Some people lecture about decorum and treating others with respect.
Later on, when we try and engage with people, we find disruption. We find a phalanx of people who have been sent to antagonise us.
At my public meetings, there are those who attempt to stoke up the crowds. There are those who try to occupy the microphone and refuse to stick to the agenda of the meeting. They do nothing but push narrow party political agendas. And the people who are actually there to engage are left without a voice, frustrated and angry. I will not let such transgressions pass.
If people want to have a robust exchange with me, then so be it. In fact, I encourage and welcome it. If they want to sow seeds of division and treat the City and its people with disrespect, then they must accept that we will not stand silent.
I find it astonishing that development and public participation are undermined by the politically selfish. And I will tell people that to their face. I will always lead with honesty and passion.
Those are the qualities I built my career on. I do not let protocol get in the way of my engagements with people. This is a democracy with leaders elected from the people, by the people. As such, we can engage as people, one human being to another.
This administration will continue to be open and honest about our challenges. It is the only way we can move into the future and have everyone fully aware of the work that needs to be done.
This article by Patricia de Lille first appeared in Cape Town This Week, the weekly newsletter of the Mayor of the City of Cape Town.
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