What about my dignity?

Firstly I want to thank you for sending your reporter to put our plight in your paper for all to see (Tempers flare over Mandeni development, Courier, November 6), but I would like to rectify a few points please.
It was stated that there was a ‘meagre’ turnout for the meeting, but nothing was said why. I mean in about the beginning of 2000 there was about 2000 employees at Sappi. This town was hopping. In about 2010/2012 we were down to about 900 (due to the economy, it was early pension and retrenchments) and 2015 if there are 300 it is a lot, so most were renting and had to move, leaving a few diehards behind.
There are a lot of empty company houses here and as I see it the only way to gain something is to give it to somebody before it gets occupied by vagrants or carried away brick by brick.
When Thompson said he wanted to make into another Mt. Edgecombe and another said this could be another Umhlanga, it’s a laugh. We have normal housing, not mansions. These houses (not the new town) that will be in the first phase were all built in the 60s and 70s.
Another is the levy. It is true that a lot of people, me included, are on pension and the money of yesteryear is really not up to today’s living, now they want us to pay R490 a month. Then next year it’s up 10% = R539 and the next 10% nearly R600 and in five years we will be topping nearly R800 a month. Pensions don’t go up that much and a lot of us opted at the time to take out private policies that gave us a good income for what we had. The only set back is no increase.
What really grates me is that some people can say that from their side everything was done legally. They schedule a meeting for 5pm and at 4pm a lorry with a bull horn rides around shouting that it’s cancelled.
Then, as they say in the paper and to us, we don’t need to pay and there is a way out. We just have to ask the ‘body corporate/rate payers council’ or whatever they will be called, for a “holiday’’. That means I have to apply and they will look over my circumstances and they will evaluate if I can be exempted from a levy for six months and at how much. Or we, the existing residents, don’t need to pay anything, but please others must. There will be a battle later on – guaranteed!
My biggest complaint is, why must I ask other people for anything? It’s my house, paid for, deeds and titles and all. Now I must ask people to look into my finances, my privacy. What about my rights, what about my dignity?
LES BRITS
Mandeni