Please, add to your agenda, asks ARA Chairperson

Doug Grewar, Chairman, AbaQulusi Residents Association, writes:–

COUNCILLORS Harry Heyns of Ward 8 and Bennie Hancke of Ward 9 are having a report back meeting on Thursday, March 19, at 5:50pm in the Library Hall. I would like to ask them to add the following questions to their agenda:

1. Is it true that acting Municipal Manager NN Sibisi signed a contract with Aqua Transport and Plant Hire on December 5 2014 for four graders for three years?

2. What is being done to locate and establish a new rubbish dump as the current one is reported to be full? As well as a new dump site for Vryheid, other sites for Mondlo, Louwsburg and Coronation etc must be established to prevent the rubbish all having to be transport to Vryheid.

3. Why has the capital works budget for Vryheid town been reduced to zero so that the replacement of asbestos water pipes with PVC as started by Christo Swanepoel come to a halt?

4. Why is there no provision in the budget for essential maintenance works such as servicing the water line valves on a regular basis? This service could be as simple as opening and closing each valve once every three months and applying oil and grease as necessary. On Saturday after the water main line in Mark Street burst it took the plumber nearly five hours to close the necessary valve because after years of not being touched it was rusted solid. In the meantime thousands of litres of our precious water went down the drain.

5. What happened to the contractors who were busy fixing the potholes? They have disappeared.

6. What is happening with the High Street Bridge? With the Demoina Lane / Mason Street Project? With the Mason Street Park?

7. This bringing in outside companies to do jobs that could be done cheaper and better by local companies must come to a stop. We need the jobs for our AbaQulusi communities and we need the money to stay circulating right here in AbaQulusi. Why bring in an outside company to collect rubbish from town to take to the dump? Are you telling me that there is no AbaQulusi business man who could have done the job just as well and for a far cheaper price? The same story is repeated again and again in the secret ABaQulusi Local Municipality (ALM) deals. No wonder that they illegally refuse to give us copies of the contracts.

8. Bennie Hancke with the help of the ARA and donations of time, money and equipment hire from many residents has made a good start to the Paddadam Clean-up Project. We are waiting for the rains to finish before we start again. Can you please request a R1 million grant from the municipality or some other government agency. The ARA is prepared to continue as unpaid project managers and we will see the money is spent with those local contractors who have so generously donated their time and money already.

9. When are we going to get the long promised organogram or list of the ALM staffing? It appears that there are far too many armchair generals and not enough soldiers at the sharp end.

10. What is the latest news in the Municipal Manager pantomime?

11. Has the municipality come to an agreement with the municipal workers union to settle the back pay that is owing to them? If not, why not?

12. What is the latest news with the criminal and fraudulent claims for unpaid overtime that cost the ALM up to R1 million a month? I know an effort has been made but it seems to be misdirected. I can give the example of a certain foreman plumber who has several thousands owing to him for genuine overtime but is being refused payment. It seems as if the thieves get paid but the honest guys get robbed?