A very cleverly structured company

Mr. Wright (UIP CEO) presents an interesting business model (A better Ballito for all’, December 12).
He states that the UIP is a property owner-funded non-profit company which partners with KDM. He then goes on to explain that the UIP cleans the boardwalk and beach from 5:30am to 8am when KDM takes over until 4pm, thereafter UIP cleans to 6pm.
Surely the trend in all smart business nowadays is outcomes based and not the number of hours or people required to do a simple task. The UIP was sold on the basis that KDM were unable to provide an effective service delivery. We as property owners and ratepayers now pay the UIP an additional levy over and above our rates every month to work the extra hours, because the workers don’t complete their task in the required hours per day.
Common logic says that KDM will just do less and less in a day, because the UIP will endeavor to complete what they (KDM) can’t finish, therefore everyone in the system becoming more reliant on the UIP, who in turn will require more money for more people and so we will go in a vicious circle.
The UIP may be recognized as a non-profit company, but there are still salaries for Mr. Wright and all his administration, which is just duplicating the KDM municipal structure and therefore the ratepayers are funding a very cleverly structured enterprise. We understand that he has implemented the same model in other areas around Durban (some with some success and some without), so when you add it all up, he has found quite a neat little loophole at the ratepayer’s expense in the municipal legislation. Evidently the little guys whose votes don’t count must suffer the burden of the extra levy and the larger property owners supporting this have more rands than sense.

RAYMOND TROLLIP
Salt Rock