EDITOR – The City recently announced that it was in the process of appointing a beachfront manager, according to another publication.
I cannot see how the decision can be welcomed. Not too long ago, many arguments for change included the terms “HIV/AIDS”. Then is was 2010. Now it is 2022.
The various departments responsible for the beachfront have for decades failed, severally, to uphold the by-laws of the Caring City – wannabe. They have ignored criticism of and concerns for the decay that has been growing steadily. At best, they scored little successes in little spaces, for short periods – and boasted lots of them.
Now, it seems, they are ready to fail jointly. All this move will achieve is secure the employment of people who do very little – but get paid for much, much more.
As long as the city manager does not hold the deputy city managers accountable for the failures of their clusters, no amount of shuffling around will provide us the will to succeed (Parks and Health are within the same failed cluster). The city manager, human resources, finance and city fleet need to call out the DCMs to say to them, “enough of this – we can no longer have you wasting our hours, money and vehicles – get your people working, or else all our jobs are at stake”.
If these clusters constantly succeeded, there would be no need for the Municipality’s Festive Season Management Committee (FESMAC), which has failed every year – at the starting block.
Of course the hospitality industry would be excited at the announcement – it’s a hope that their tills would keep ringing. I do not know for sure what they discuss at meetings with the City, but for sure, the law enforcement “services” fail those discussions – as they do those with CPFs.
If only “hospitality” was stern with the City, including SAPS and DuMPS, Durban would really be “The Warmest Place To Be” – and not the cheap destination it is.
Mahmood
North Beach
