MOUNTAIN MADNESS – OR TOURISTS, SAFETY AND TABLE MOUNTAIN?

Congratulations to the Cape Times for publicising the recent attack on Obs resident Ian Mackie (he was stabbed while cycling on the mountain near Rhodes Memorial). Congratulations to Ian Mackie for his willingness to publicise this in the press (otherwise we wouldn’t know about it). And congratulations to the MEC for Community Safety for belatedly coming to the party and offering to coordinate ‘a round table discussion’ with the relevant role players. One hopes that this is not just a PR exercise, with one eye on the forthcoming municipal elections. And one hopes that he will keep us informed of progress (if any). And one hopes that TMNP’s head of (in)security, Hilton Blumeris, will be redeployed following his egregious comments – to the effect that security on the mountain is ‘adequate’, and that ‘police will report statistics’. Perhaps he should talk to the car guard at Rhodes Memorial, Thumba Modesta, whose remarks were spot on: ‘Muggings will continue until the place is monitored.’
Let us not lose sight, however, of the underlying problem, which is that TMNP ‘cannot’ divulge statistics re. crime on the mountain, and SAPS (whose duty this should be) will not. The well-known ‘moratorium’ on the release of crime statistics explains this strange state of affairs. One would have thought that in a democracy, where the government and public officials can (or should) be held to account, the police (or the relevant Ministry) would feel obliged to provide the public with the information they need to make informed decisions regarding their personal safety. Apparently not. Must we wait until a tourist is killed on the mountain before anyone takes this issue seriously? Or must we rely on the efforts of civil society groups, like the Table Mountain Safety Action Group?
This leaves one in a bizarre situation: when I am asked by a visitor to Cape Town whether it is safe to walk on the mountain, I can only answer, ‘I don’t know. I don’t know how many crimes are committed on the mountain, or what the most dangerous spots are, or whether the situation is getting better or worse.’ I can only advise them (if they want to take the risk) to leave valuables behind, walk in a large group and arm themselves with stout sticks (for self-defence). Oh, and they should avoid the most popular tourist routes, as these will probably be targeted by criminals. Perhaps Cape Town Tourism should put out an advisory to this effect? It’s ironic, isn’t it. It seems we are able to put on a virtually crime-free World Cup, but we lack the capacity or the will to secure a few well-known ‘hot spots’ on Table Mountain!
A final request: could the Cape Times also publish an article featuring safety on the trains run by Metrorail (and subsidised by the taxpayer). The same questions could be asked. How safe is it to travel by train? What steps are being taken to protect commuters, and how effective are these? How many muggings, or assaults, take place on average every month? (One can predict, of course, that this is information that neither Metrorail nor SAPS will divulge.)