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Washing hands of the window washers

Marelise van der Merwe and Daily Maverick grew up together, so her past life increasingly resembles a speck in the rearview mirror. She vaguely recalls writing, editing, teaching and researching, before joining the Daily Maverick team as Production Editor. She spent a few years keeping vampire hours in order to bring you each shiny new edition (you're welcome) before venturing into the daylight to write features. She still blinks in the sunlight.

When washing windows becomes a crime, it’s time for urgent introspection. South Africa – particularly the long arm of the law – has been due a stint of this for a long time.

Last week, Johannesburg Metro Police confirmed that over 550 ‘illegal’ windscreen washers had been arrested since February.

The announcement caused barely a blip on the news pages, lost among battles between political giants. And crimes of a more newsworthy nature.

News24’s wire service reported, “More than 550 illegal windscreen washers have been arrested in Johannesburg since February, metro police said on Saturday. ‘Two were arrested today. There have been more than 550 arrested at intersections around Johannesburg since February 2015,’ Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar told News24.”

The ‘offenders’ are taken to police stations and given the option of paying a R300 fine or appearing in court. Of those arrested, Minnaar added, several were foreigners who were eventually deported. Those who were homeless were taken to city shelters.

I put ‘offenders’ in quotation marks because who they’re offending is all down to your perspective.

These arrests form part of Operation Ke Molao (It’s the Law), which was launched on 11 February “to deal with lawlessness”, as it was described at the time. Inexplicably, the operation, which was meant to reduce crime at intersections, has instead boasted a large amount of window washer arrests but delivered, if one is to believe the news reports, zero actual criminals. There doesn’t seem to be any comment on whether said window washers were behaving aggressively and according to the information published, none of them were smashing, grabbing, or hijacking.

Minnaar has said there are fewer crimes at intersections in central Johannesburg since February, but has not defined these crimes. The crime, for all we know, could be illegal window washing or selling – since Ke Molao also includes on its hit list street vendors and beggars and was at pains to point out that according to Johannesburg’s by-laws, vending, loitering and begging are crimes.

Ke Molao is a multi-faceted crackdown with implications on informal traders of all flavours. There have definitely been some barbs directed at the window washers, though. When LeadSA ambassador Yusuf Abramjee was campaigning for government to crack down on window washers, with the DA hot on his heels, DA public safety spokesman Michael Sun spoke of the gravity of the situation by giving examples of how window washing could lead to violence. But the violence, mind you, was not necessarily by the window washers.

While we are mindful of people who are trying to make a small earning and those who have to resort to trading on the streets, we cannot condone any kind of unlawful activity,” he said.

I have seen a man getting out of the car and chasing a window washer with a bat. We cannot turn a blind eye and pretend this is not serious.”

No, indeed. There’s always the danger that deranged motorists will chase/assault the window washers with bats (also a crime).

Obviously the logical response is to arrest the window washers.

Now, I don’t know about you, but mass arrests? Deportation? Loss of livelihoods? This all sounds to me an awful lot like the mindset behind Operation Fiela, Operation Clean Sweep, etc, etc – this nasty habit we have in South Africa of criminalising the poor and disenfranchised.

Just lump together the ‘problem children’ and sommer round them up in a van before the trouble starts. Isn’t that how we do it in these days?

It’s funny, because when houses get robbed or cars get broken into or drugs get dealt one could swear one hears little whispers about how it’s better to earn an honest living.

So why does South Africa make it so hard for people to do that?

You’d think that with an education system in drastic need of intervention and an unemployment rate that is in ICU, not to mention our violent crime rates, South Africa would be happy to support the guy who’s willing to stand in the sun washing windows when he only gets paid, if he’s lucky, a handful of times (and gets shouted at for the rest). Or the lady who will sell you a bag of naartjies at a bargain price. Or heck, any of the many sellers, hawkers, or vendors affected by Ke Molao. Theirs is the kind of spirit I can get behind. I’m not sure I’d have such a hot work ethic in those circumstances myself. So even if a dude is washing my window with water that’s a bit dirty by the end of the day, I really don’t care. If I compare my problem (a manky window) to his (a generally kak situation) I’ll take the window. I’ll give the guy a couple of bucks. Or at least a smile.

Heck, I got a bargain on some guavas and a car charger at a robot the other day. And Christmas isn’t Christmas without those cheery Santa hats. But I digress.

In reports surrounding Ke Molao, the justification for sweeping window washers off the streets is their “aggression”. But Ke Molao’s motley crue of offenders could come in any flavour, since the same brush paints street vendors, robot sellers, hawkers, beggars and hijackers (!). You could grab my bag at gunpoint or set up a table selling potatoes, it’s much of a muchness in the eyes of the law. If you disturb the peace of the wealthy, you’re out on your ear.

Now, I’m not quite sure why individual cases of harassment and assault aren’t handled as such (firstly) so that peaceful persons can just go about their business; and secondly, in my experience no window washer, robot seller or pavement trader has ever been aggressive with me, in any city, whether I pay them or not. (A smile works wonders.) Am I just lucky? Do I have nice teeth? Or is it possible that there’s an element of prejudice and privilege at play here?

In a world where globally, trends such as anti-homeless spikes can be installed with a straight face (although countered with innovations such as these) it’s really a time for introspection. Is this how low we have sunk? That this is what we now call crime?

Here are a couple of real crime statistics to ponder:

  • According to Rape Crisis, the conviction rate for rapists is just 4% in Gauteng and 7% in the Western Cape. These are the rapes that are actually reported. Police crime statistics state that in 2011/2012 there were a total of 9,193 sexual offences reported to the SAPS in the Western Cape. In total, 64,514 sexual offences were reported countrywide for that period. But, says Rape Crisis, “The difficulty with using statistics released by the SAPS is that many incidents of rape go unreported; some studies[1] estimate that if all were reported, the figures could be as high as 84,000 for the province and over 500,000 for the country.”

  • According to an SALC criminal justice system outcomes report, 11% of murder cases result in convictions and 61% do not make it to court.

In the light of the above, is it really a victory for the police that they’re arresting hundreds of window washers? Pull the other one, guys.

South Africa has a combination of negative attitudes by its people and an increasingly concerning series of crackdowns on the disenfranchised. Xenophobic attacks on the streets on one end; campaigns by suburban upper classes to get rid of hawkers, beggars and other ‘nuisances’ on the other. Put it this way, the country isn’t exactly standing around practising its care bear stare.

When Ke Molao was launched, The SA National Traders Retail Alliance (Santra) was outraged. “The campaign against Joburg window washers, beggars and robot sellers requires immediate intervention and review. LeadSA, the DA and instigators of the campaign have blundered. A far more multidimensional plan to deal with these people is needed,” spokesman Edmund Elias said.

But where is this multidimensional plan? It’s difficult to start a small business in South Africa. Tax laws are tricky to navigate. There are stricter lending laws, now, which in most cases is a good thing – but those who are unable to afford bank loans are at the mercy of unscrupulous loan sharks; or alternatively they are forced into informal trading if they can’t get a job. How are they to earn a living if informal trading is forbidden in the heart of cities’ economic centres? One doesn’t need a degree to see that this places them at a huge disadvantage, as Greg Nicolson reported during Operation Clean Sweep. Clean Sweep left over 6,000 people unable to make a living for months.

And this is supposed to fight crime? By depriving people of the means to make an honest living?

South Africa badly needs to support its small businesses, formal and informal. According to the 2014 GEM report, “[i]nformal businesses play an important role in the South African economy and are thought to contribute as much as 20% to the national GDP.” But there’s little understanding if robot sellers, hawkers, and yes, even the humble window washer are going to be criminalised. It’s not just their income being jeopardised; it’s the fact that informal traders often provide affordable goods that means their customers are also disadvantaged.

The report added that education plays a major role in entrepreneurial activity – the more educated the person, the more likely they are to start a business and succeed at it – but, as we know, the Global Competitive Index report placed us 144th out of 144 countries in maths and science. Whoops. So entrepreneurs need all the help they can get.

There’s a desperate need for entrepreneurship, but sadly, our people don’t believe they can do it. Do you blame them, though? Again according to GEM: “Individuals in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa, [emphasis mine] generally have high perceptions about the presence of good opportunities for starting a business and believe they have the skills and knowledge necessary.” South Africa had the lowest youth entrepreneurial propensity of only 23.3%; the lowest youth entrepreneurship participation of only 12.8%; and at least 60% of the youth population in all countries except South Africa showed entrepreneurial propensity or were actively pursuing an entrepreneurial opportunity. South Africa recorded the highest level of non-entrepreneurial youth, 63.9%.

Sure, you could argue that the window washer isn’t exactly the shining light among entrepreneurs, even informal ones, and I’d agree with you. But there are three points to consider: first, it’s not that easy to start a business, so maybe try walking a mile in that guy’s shoes. Secondly, if you want to get rid of the window washers, don’t lock them up. I promise you that guy doesn’t want to wash windows forever. Chances are if he’s the kind of guy who’s willing to wash a window, he’s likely to try something more ambitious when he has enough money. (Remember the story of Momentum executive Frank Magwegwe, who was a fruit and veg seller on the streets of downtown Joburg; or BAT’s head of marketing Egypt, Hiram Murillo, who sold dog food door to door as a child of 10.) Many entrepreneurs began at the bottom. Support them. They may surprise you.

Thirdly, it’s not just window washers being criminalised – it’s all manner of informal businesses, and it’s part of a greater pattern of behaviour by lawmakers. Where is the line going to be drawn?

If this manner of thinking – if the underlying prejudice – isn’t confronted, what’s going to come next?

Today it’s the window washer and the hawker. It’s been the person in the spaza shop. Tomorrow who’s it going to be? Laws have a funny way of changing gradually and then suddenly. And unemployment isn’t a problem until it happens to you. By the time the crisis starts happening fast, it’s too late. When gradually tightening screws start affecting your small business in the suburbs, or when your son or daughter can’t freelance as a graphic designer in your garage when times are hard, what are you going to say then?

Are you going to regret that you didn’t stand up when it wasn’t you? DM

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