* This story has updated
Cape Town - Cape Town’s former Walking Bus members demonstrated on the sidelines of the City Hall ahead of the State of the Nation Address (Sona), after it threatened mass action at Sona if Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis did not respond to a list of their demands.
Last week Friday Walking Bus members handed over a list of demands to Hill-Lewis after the programme officially ended on December 15, and members were asked to apply to the City’s newest law enforcement unit in January.
It sparked outrage a few days later by members who accused Hill-Lewis of replacing an initiative which began in the community with a law enforcement unit that discriminates against the former Walking Bus members.
The Walking Bus Project entailed parents, as well as volunteers from the broader community walking groups of children to school in the morning and back home in the afternoon, with the aim of improving learner safety.
Hundreds of Walking Bus members marched to the mayor’s office at the end of January in protest of ending the Walking Bus and replacing it with a law enforcement unit “focused on the protection of service delivery teams, facilities and infrastructure”.
After a meeting with the Hill-Lewis on February 4, the group handed over a list of demands and required a response - according to the City the deadline for which is Friday.
As the stage is set for this year’s Sona which is being held at the City Hall, former Walking Bus members are currently demonstrating and holding placards outside the barricades of the new Sona venue.
“This project was launched by the previous mayor Dan Plato, and when Geordin Hill-Lewis took over, he removed us,” one of the demonstrators told eNCA during their live broadcast at the City Hall on Thursday.
“He (Hill-Lewis) doesn't want this project to continue. Please renew our contracts,” he said.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the City of Cape Town said the Walking Bus Project said is not being ended, but it’s being adapted to broaden the scope of the support they offer.
"The new project is under development and more information will be shared as soon as possible. This has been communicated extensively to the walking bus members.
“The Walking Bus Project is a great example of active citizenry and a community based volunteer programme. It started out as a volunteer programme and continues to be a volunteer programme.
“For a short period over the past several years of the project a stipend was made available to show appreciation to the volunteers as budget was available at the time. That budget is no longer available, but that does not change the volunteer nature of the project,” the City said.
“The city continues to encourage active citizenry, like joining a neighbourhood watch or walking bus, or reading to youth at libraries, so that we can all play our part in making our communities safer, cleaner and more enjoyable for all.”
The list of demands by the Walking Bus members handed over to Hill-Lewis includes;
- Initiating a similar project to Walking Bus to accommodate members who won’t qualify as safety officers in the new unit.
- Payment of stipends dating back to the reopening of schools
- Better PPE, equipment and education for members
“This new unit aims to professionalise the former walking bus programme, giving qualified applicants better security training and equipment, and a broader scope of duties in the community,” the City of Cape Town said in a statement in January regarding the new law enforcement unit in place of the Walking Bus.
“It is our hope that the numerous volunteers in our city will gain an opportunity to professionalise the work that they do for their communities by applying to the vacancies once they open up in the next few months,” it said.
However, there will be fewer positions in the new unit.
The project was started by concerned mothers in crime-ridden areas in Cape Town and grabbed international attention. Dan Plato took over the project before becoming mayor in 2016, however continued to incentivise the project to members after his appointment.
The Walking Bus project grew to cover more than 70 areas.
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