Newsletter| No matter which city you are in, you will be confronted by beggars at EVERY traffic light. Regardless of what their defenders might say, they are a security hazard. We need to deal with this crisis of massive proportions, writes Mondli Makhanya
On my first visit to Ethiopia in 2000, we were warned by South African diplomats not to make eye contact with the legions of beggars who make the navigation of Addis Ababa’s streets a nightmare.The beggars were menacing – they came right up to the windows of the minibus we were moving around in and even knocked on our windows.
Little did I anticipate back then that this begging pandemic would one day break out in sunny South Africa, yet pulling up to a traffic light or a stop street has become a hazardous affair. As a humanitarian and internationalist, I felt sympathy for these victims of Robert Mugabe’s tyranny and destructive policies. Anyway, they are now a fixture on the street corners.
They quickly filled up the streets, performing some dances and circus tricks. Mostly, they just begged. A colleague once remarked that they behave as if you made an appointment to meet them there and are now reneging on your deal.The beggars on our city streets are a terrible eyesore, not only for visitors, but also for those of us who live here.Letting drugged up youngsters occupy busy intersections is inviting trouble. There are many cases where motorists have been harmed or come close to being harmed by them.
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