What happened to proper problem solving?

Madam – Problem solving appears to be unknown to the mayor?

If any of you want to know what the missing link in Newcastle is, then you need to advise the municipality of a problem that exist with something that the municipality is involved with.

I tried that approach through the Advertiser of last week in September and so in the Advertiser dated 24/10/2014. The response of the mayor was excuse number one: “The best way to interact with your councillor is not through the media”.

So the link pertaining to Link Road, Hasty Road and the Newcastle Shopping Mall was not made. They don’t know the sound of a penny that dropped!

The never ending story would be that the dumping can simply carry on and the problem remains unsolved. They think they have the perfect excuse to keep on doing nothing? When the cleanest town audit is done, they simply keep the auditors away from this stinking area???

Will the ward councillors be able to do something if I bring this problem to his or her attention via a cellphone call or letter directed to him or her? Now, please inform me when this person will be in town and where can I find him or her and by what name and cellphone number?

I think I am about to kick the mayor’s back sitting side if I get another number one standard answer from the mayor’s desk! Don’t keep on feeding us with excuses, get to the bottom of good feedback! Attend a good problem solving and decision making training course and hopefully the penny will drop?

J.F. Schoeman

Response from Mayor, Afzul Rehman:

Does the writer believe that without making an official complaint with the municipality his/hers problem will be resolved?

If you have a problem with Vodacom or some other company, do you write to the media first and hope that someone reads the paper from the company and acts? It simply does not work like that, you need to first lodge your complaint with the relevant company!

I solve many problems in a day, but some just won’t go away!!