EDITOR – The views expressed by the newly appointed City Manager for eThekwini, Sipho Nzuza, make for positive reading. If he is able to deliver on his promises and genuinely believes that he must deliver in the interest of ratepayers and stakeholders, then he is on the right track.
However, he will need first-rate diplomatic skills to tread the path between the two competing factions in the ruling party. He will be answering to politicians, most of whom are nowhere near as qualified as he is. This will not stop them from telling him what, and what not to do.
Having lived in Cape Town, he has already publicly praised, for example, the cleanliness of Cape Town over Durban, and his suggestion that there are some things that we can copy, won’t go down well with his political masters. Our politicians in South Africa are politically immature where party political point scoring is given a higher priority than good governance.
There are many areas where we are behind Cape Town and he will have his work cut out to do the right thing.
To name just a few; fixing a dysfunctional Metro Police force, tackling derelict and abandoned properties, improving the enforcement of building operations, non-payment of rent for the leasing of properties housing operations that serve the public, providing a safety net for vulnerable persons living on the streets, corruption, dodgy tender processes, slum landlords and the list goes on.
We welcome Sipho Nzuza back to Durban. If he tackles these burning issue, then he will find us, as a civic action group, and many others, backing him all the way.
Kevin Dunkley
Cheryl Johnson
SAVE OUR BEREA
