Letter: Time for empty promises

Ismael Asmal of KwaDukuza writes:

It’s that time of the year again when posters and billboards of sinister-looking characters will be splashed on streetlight poles, shop windows, on motor vehicles and every conceivable space available to display the service delivery “abilities” of candidates, begging their ward electorate to care for their families through the use of public funds.

The handbills and newspaper adverts will start flying around, listing, enumerating, exaggerating and promising gigantic, monumental, sweeping transformation to the broken-down infrastructure of poor old battered Stanger.

I have addressed the same issue many times before but to no avail. It’ll seem as if a wand will be waved over our once pristine and well-kept town and voila! the pumpkin will change into a stagecoach!

Our town is perhaps on the list of the filthiest, most unhygienic towns in the province, if not in the country! It seems quite apparent that some people are comfortable in filth, garbage, faeces and urine.

Just walk around the market and taxi terminus areas to verify my observation.

For goodness’ sake, it’s not just about being elected into a post and receiving the huge salaries and perks.

That I’m sure will be in your bank account before you have your first council meeting.

It’s more about fulfilling your pledges and promises to the citizens for service delivery.

That is why people have entrusted you.

And this my dear councillors, entails earnestly looking around our town for faults and destruction and having these repaired even if they are outside your ward.

This is our town!

If the present councillors had done their duty diligently, we would not have so many potholes, overgrown verges, collapsing streets, road crevices that overflow with raw sewage, adjacent to hawkers selling cooked food.

We are victims of very poor town management.

This is a scary scenario but the reality that has become commonplace in our once pleasant town, as I recall from my youth.

So, my advice to all the ward aspirants is that do not make promises that cannot be kept.

Don’t use words such as ” I guarantee, I promise, I pledge, make sure…” in your manifesto.

This is just hollow, meaningless political rhetoric designed to hoodwink the electorate into voting you into office.

Alas, once you get your seat you just sit back and snub those who trusted you.

My suggestion to province or whoever is the big wig is to do a monthly inspection of each ward and if they are slacking, then a part of their salary must be removed until every criterion is met.

There must be proper checks and balances.

After all its our money!

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