The Mayor has a responsibility…

Madam – NO MUNICIPAL ISSUE

With reference to the letter from Supporter for our Provincial Hospital and the mayor’s response in the Advertiser of 4 December 2015. I wish to record my support for the opinions expressed by your reader simply because the mayor has to my mind, a responsibility towards the well-being of the citizens of this town by ensuring the best services are rendered to the people of this town even if the specific service is the responsibility of another authority.

It is unfair and becoming a financial burden for many people to travel more than 30 km to receive medical attention, be it for people from Newcastle West to travel to Madadeni or patients from Newcastle East to visit the Provincial Hospital in Newcastle.

If this service is becoming a problem for many of the citizens of Newcastle I believe the mayor has a responsibility to address the matter.

It has become common cause for the mayor to repeatedly refer to previous administrations. I have been a resident of Newcastle for many years and my observation is that each administration has functioned and administered the affairs of this town in accordance with prevailing circumstances and legislation applicable at the time.

Within the ranks of local government, Newcastle was always seen as very progressive and a leader in many fields.

As circumstances change it is expected of any Council to adapt to new ideas and by doing so does not mean that the management of previous Councils was not up to standard. Rather acknowledge the fact that what we have today is being derived from the foundation laid in the past.

I would, however, urge the mayor to curtail, having regard to current economic conditions, extravagant overseas trips, to keep at all costs tariff increases within the inflation rate, to investigate further possibilities to address the financial plight of many pensioners, an example being the exorbitant availability charges that escalates year after year.

I am a proud citizen of Newcastle and appreciates what is being done to make our town more attractive, but it is the little things that bother many people that are not being addressed which also receive attention.

Marina Boucher

Response from Mayor, Afzul Rehman:

Let me correct the writer, I am not referring to a previous administration, even though I doubt they have created the correct foundations, but to another sphere of government that I have no power or influence over.

The issue of extravagant overseas trips is a publicity hype by certain people. The municipality has only embarked on two trips last year, only one per financial year.

One was to visit an alternative energy source and we have progressed a great deal in this regard. The other was to represent South Africa at a trade conference.

Both have huge impacts on Newcastle and as such must be compared to the benefits the city receives from this exposure.