Municipal manager defends TV purchase
Municipal manager, Kebone Masange, says he feels that questioning each and every purchase made by the municipality is tantamount to interfering with administration.
Since coming under criticism for having a flat screen television installed in his office, municipal manager, Kebone Masange, has taken the time to elaborate on why the TV is a necessary tool in the workplace.
Mr Masange said that expecting municipal officials to report to the Ratepayers Association every time it made a decision was tantamount to interfering with the administration.
In a previous article published in the Newcastle Advertiser, the Ratepayers’ Association had criticised the decision to purchase the TV for the municipal manager’s office, saying it was an unnecessary waste of money.
“If people are under the impression that I come into the office and watch TV, they can rest assured that I simply do not have the time,” began Mr Masange.
“If, however, I hear that the president is communicating an important government policy, as a civil servant, I cannot say that I have not heard what the president has said. At the end of the day, it is my responsibility to implement this policy.”
Besides listening to the president’s speeches, Mr Masange said that television news broadcasts also offered policy reviews and analysis that enabled him to assess the strengths and shortcomings of government policies.
“We can’t all go to Pietermaritzburg to listen when government policy is being discussed or explained. So, we listen on TV. Then, we ask ourselves, from what was said in the speech, what relevance and implications the policy has to Newcastle. If, for example, the equitable share for municipalities is being reduced, we have to think about what effect this will have on us,” explained Mr Masange.
He went on to say that in the past, he would drive home to watch the speech, but that this was a waste of time and unprofessional. He further explained that it was unprofessional to move corporate clients around the building when they wished to do a formal presentation, when having the screen installed in his office made it easier for them to put their message across.
Finally, Mr Masange admitted that he found it odd that people chose to complain about TVs now, when they have always been part of the municipality.
As he said this, he pointed to an old TV and video cassette recorder that had been purchased by the municipality many years ago to make his point.
