ESTCOURT KZN: Let’s just face it – a frank look at the state of the town [OPINION]
Driving into Estcourt is really an experien
Editor –
After reading all the complaints and disgruntled letters over several years about our municipality and services and so on and on and on…
I thought it would be nice to make this a nice Letter to the Editor. It may even bring a smile to your face.
Driving into Estcourt is really an experience.
If you can make it to the centre of town without either getting written off by trucks or a taxi, or wrecking your car suspension, destroying the rims and tyres, then you’ve done really well.
However when you make it to the central business district (CBD), a new challenge is waiting for you.
SEE THIS: Cattle roam freely in the main street
Apart from more serious-sized potholes and crazy drivers, the “paras” are waiting for you. For those who don’t know who and what they are “they are human beings just like all of us with the exception that they are drug addicts who will attack, beat up and rob unsuspecting soft targets.”
They like to break into cars and people’s homes and small businesses, often armed with a knife or some form of weapon. They operate in small groups of two or three and don’t give a damn about society and what the results of their actions are.
Every town, city in the world probably has them; they just go by a different name. So let’s not fool ourselves crime is all around the world.
READ: Crime wave sweeping through the CBD
Estcourt is just a little town where a very small percentage of people actually care about it and its residents.
However Estcourt allows a whole lot of things, which encourages incredible acts of human behaviour.
Public urination…now this is absolutely beautiful….if you need to go….just go.
It doesn’t matter where you are…if nature calls “just do it.”
Paras have a free reign…they hang around in plain sight…waiting for their next victim….easy cash little effort, maximum protection.
Driving conduct is one of the best in the world.
In Estcourt, one can stop anywhere…drop off passengers on the apex of a corner or better still in the middle of a busy road hooters are only used to greet pedestrians and friends, don’t ever hoot in anger…you are endangering your life.. .it’s called “instant road rage”
Stop signs means slow down just in case there is a big truck coming. If it’s a car, go…he or she will slow down and avoid the accident.
No stopping signs mean that you can stop and park your vehicle there for as long as you want. Just make sure that local traffic police are not around.
Wheelchair/disabled parking, if you are not a Springbok athlete you can park there. People in wheelchairs have four wheels, they can park elsewhere.
“PLEASE DO NOT BLOCK THIS ENTRANCE” means block the entrance, park in front of it and anybody wanting to enter or exit must wait for the driver to either return to the vehicle or for him to finish talking to his friend…what’s the problem?
Keep left…this rule only applies if there are no potholes or cars stopped in the left hand lane. Otherwise stay on the right hand side of the road and hope that oncoming traffic will avoid you.
Yield signs mean “don’t worry, the other car will stop”.
I have saved the best for last….traffic lights or robots…
After several close encounters I have to ask the question. Just how many drivers are actually colour blind?
The number of drivers going through red robots is actually rather frightening.
But I’ve come to realise the function of the three colours of the traffic lights and what they stand for. That is in Estcourt, I’m not sure about London or Rome.
GREEN means GO
RED means STOP.
AMBER (YELLOW) means “go like hell BRU… the RED is coming”.
In closing let’s just face it, as much good as some people try to do for our little town, there’s a whole lot that don’t care. Litter thrown from cars, buses, trucks, taxis and pedestrians, urine stench and human faeces wrapped in newspaper on curbs and behind sub stations and trees.
Dilapidated roads and verges, uncut grass, unrepaired curbs and broken walkways, portray a very sad broken down town which will never be what it should be in 2021. If this is how the new generation intends to live, then I feel there is very little or no hope for future generations to come.
Are South Africans going to be classed as third world for eternity? Well, it seems like it.
Let’s face it…
We have gone backwards and for this complete disregard of maintenance and upkeep of our town, we cannot blame Covid…it’s only been here for less than two years…Estcourt has been bleeding for a lot longer.
Discouraged, Scared and Old…But Not Cold
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