An open letter to the President

Doug Grewar, Chairman of AbaQulusi Residents Association (ARA), writes:-

Open Letter to His Excellency the President of South Africa Jacob Zuma and his Minister of CoGTA (Local Government) Pravin Gordhan.

GREETINGS from Vryheid in the AbaQulusi Ikhanda, the ancestral home of Princess Mkabayi ka Jama, the aunt of King Shaka Zulu, and also the site of the Nieuwe Republiek that was founded by Lucas Meijer on land given by King Dinizulu as a reward for the Utrecht Boer Commando’s helping him to retake his throne from his rival Prince Uzibhebhu.

Our AbaQulusi Local Municipal (ALM) council is in a state of confrontation with its workers who are busy trashing the town, burning down electrical sub-stations and smashing water supply lines. This sabotage might even be called a declaration of war.

We do not know what the workers demands are because our council unconstitutionally acts in secret and also the workers leaders have not seen fit to communicate with the media or the AbaQulusi Residents Association (ARA) whose purpose is to fight for and assist the ALM with better service delivery.

The ARA can well understand the workers frustration about the lack of proper response from the council because we have experienced the same treatment. However we would ask them to stop sabotaging our utilities because this only damages their cause and may lead to more serious problems.

For nearly three years now, the ALM council has played petty politics, failing to concentrate on service delivery and even failing to accept the appointed Municipal Manager after a ruling of the constitutional court to that effect. There are a few good Councillors who try their best, but their general performance leads the ARA to perceive the council as an obstacle, rather than a facilitator to progress.

The whole situation is intolerable especially to those of us who have to pay heavy rates and service charges.

The ARA therefore appeals to your Excellency to rescue the people of AbaQulusi from this disaster by removing the whole 44 member council and appointing an administrator until the next local government elections.

Ngiyabonga.