Blue Light escorts for servants? Whose the boss?

On the 20th anniversary of democracy in South Africa, we find ourselves solicited by those who seek office to serve us. And this is done with as much humility as the candidates can muster. After election to office, however, all this humility vanishes in dramatic fashion right in front of our eyes. It is a phenomenon worthy of inclusion in one of David Copperfield's magic shows.

On the day the Gupta wedding party landed at that air force base they were apparently met by police or traffic police and it appears that the entire party were given an ‘unauthorised’ blue light escort to the wedding venue at Sun City.  The fact that local motorists were necessarily required to wait patiently for so-called VIPs to pass is an outrage, not to mention an inexcusable abuse of power.
One can only wonder about how many other unauthorised, yet well-connected persons also receive the courtesy of these unofficial escorts.  These entourages whizz past so rapidly that it is impossible for anyone to establish the identity of the persons concerned.

Sadly, recent history reveals that the official blue light brigades in South Africa also operate in a manner which violates the rights of ordinary citizens. I need only mention the incident when a provincial Minister’s blue light brigade, allegedly travelling at high speed, collided with and severely injured a young teenager on his motorbike.  Of course, one cannot ignore the many incidents where the police escorting such brigades allegedly threatened (and worse) road users who, in the escorts’ infinite wisdom, had failed to give way smartly enough.

One need only Google “blue lights” & “South Africa” to find a host of further tales involving such abuse or similar excesses. Many of these incidents have one thing in common. The taxpayer is called upon to fork up.

Even in the absence of the above, there are two cogent reasons why Blue Light brigades are indefensible.

Firstly, it bears reminding that the recipients of this privilege are not VIP’s, nor are they our masters. They are elected public servants. How easily we forget that it is the voters, who place them in office, who are the masters. Why should any public servants be permitted preference on the roads over those who elected them?

It is only at election time that our politicians display anything close to the humility which is required of a servant. Politicians are in dire need of reminder of their place. Blue light brigades only serve to over-inflate their vast sense of self-importance.

Secondly, nothing any politician, including the president, does is so important that it cannot wait or cannot be delayed by a few hours. It is possibly only in times of war that this might not hold true. For the rest, if the meeting or fixture is important enough, the politicians, like the rest of us, should plan ahead to ensure their arrival in good time. Blue light brigades only serve to encourage poor planning and tardiness on the part of the beneficiaries of this privilege.

In the case of a genuine emergency, such as a natural disaster, no-one could object to the use of helicopters or presidential jets if the president, or any other politician, genuinely needed to move speedily in order to establish the needs of any victims concerned.

Of course, I fully accept that certain politicians, including the President, Premiers and all Ministers should be entitled to a security entourage.  However, I do not accept that any of them, including the President, should be entitled to preference on the roads ahead of the real VIP’s in this country, the voters.

A final reason for ensuring that politicians receive no preference on the roads is that it is only by ensuring that they experience the inconvenience of traffic jams for themselves that they might be encouraged to do something about the problem.