Congratulations, Lead SA

Set to The Star, Johannesburg, Thu 04/08/2011 21:36. Not Published.

Lead SA, congratulations on your birthday!  Not many one-year-olds have achieved as much.

You've made it cool again to care about society. Even if their parents are still breaking the traffic laws, you're helping to make the children better citizens.

For me there were just two campaigns that needed more thought.

Firstly, the campaign against Rhino poaching needs another leg (more below).

Secondly, the calls to pray for Madiba.  Lead SA, a vanguard movement, should not be encouraging superstition.  In any case, on a practical note, research (e.g. STEP) has shown that praying for others has little or no effect.  Except when the person knows they are being prayed for.  Then it is mostly counter-productive.

So if you want to waste your time, pray for Madiba.  But if you want to hurt him, tell him that you are praying for him.

In the next year I'd like to see Lead SA tackle the following:

• Campaigning to have the police charge cable thieves and those destroying infrastructure with sabotage instead of mere theft or damage to property.  This is hugely warranted considering the impact on our country.
• Persuading CITES to legalize trade in Rhino horn.  The campaign against Rhino poaching on its own is going to fail because of the economics involved.  A Rhino costs R500 000 to a million Rand and its horn sells for R1.6M to R2.5M, which will go up as the breed nears extinction.  Legalizing the trade will let Rhinos be valued correctly, and farmed.
• Holding Government and Municipalities accountable for service delivery.  Radio 702 and The Star get paid by Joburg Metro to advertise it as a "World Class City", which we all know is a lie: How about giving "Mr Billing Crisis", Parks Tau, an ultimatum to get his house in order or can the adverts?  Tough one –it means putting your money where your mouth is!

All best for the next year, Lead SA!

Cable Theft is Sabotage

Sent Tue 02/08/2011 08:12, Published in The Star (Johannesburg, South Africa); August 3, 2011 as “Rather charge cable thieves with sabotage” without the parts in blue.

The Star of 1 August carried a front-page report about brazen cable theft.

Catching these thieves is difficult because of the speed of the crime, but there is another incentive to doing it.

If the criminal is caught, he will be charged with theft.  This is a lesser crime than robbery, where violence or the threat of violence is involved.  The police will expend less energy in investigating the case, reducing the chance of conviction.  If convicted, the so-called thief will get a short sentence.

Consider now the effect of cable theft. Suburbs are plunged into darkness.  Thousands of lives are disrupted. Businesses can not function.  Huge amounts are spent on backup systems.  Communications halt.  Emergency services fail.  In cases like railways and traffic lights, people can die.

The cost of cable theft to society is completely out of proportion to the benefit to the criminals, yet they continue to do it.

It is time for the criminal to pay the real cost.

Cable thieves are deliberately harming the country.  They should be charged, not with theft, but with sabotage.  Put them away for twenty years and give the police an incentive to make more arrests.

Scrap-metal dealers who buy sabotaged cables must be charged as accessories to sabotage.

Businesses should also pursue class action civil cases to recover their real losses from the convicted saboteurs and their accomplices.