To the Mayor, Jabu Mbele

I don’t have a clue where and how to address you as there is just so much to say.

The condition of this town, YOUR TOWN and ours, is an absolute disgrace. I think it fair of me to begin by asking you, how many have you got employed working in EVERY department at the municipality?

RELATED ARTICLE: Reader voices service delivery concerns

I would like an honest answer from you please. I do know that you have many in the office. Many were brought from Imbabazane and took over. We also all know the reason for the amalgamation but dealing with this town’s problems haven’t gotten better, in actual fact, it has worsened. It seems like no one cares and absolutely nothing is being done for this town or its rate payers. Where are our rates going to? Surely they should be used to repair and maintain Inkosi Langalibalele! I continually, day and night, see PECS vehicles driving up and down, with many passengers, doing nothing. Is that not a waste of fuel and wear and tear on the vehicles?

I see the ELECTRICAL department driving back and forth. We had a huge hole dug in our property, also a few more down near the SAPS flats, nothing is being done to close them. Waiting for cable to replace, I was told. Or is the truthful excuse to that, there is just NO MONEY to buy the cable. So in the meantime, we must live with exposed ground and cables.

ALSO READ:

I see FINANCIAL DEPARTMENT vehicles driving up Ntabamhlophe Road leaving town, also parked at the ‘car wash’ (in Albert Street) behind Marylu. Is the FINANCIAL Department not an office job?

What about road surfaces? Water pipes burst, they get repaired or replaced, ummm, and then the gigantic holes get closed, but the road IS NOT resurfaced. NO TAR, why, well because you all used the funds for events, cashing in all your receipts for goodness knows what.
So there is no money in the coffers to fix anything.

ALSO READ: Pothole takes over Drakensview intersection

There are also numerous, highly dangerous potholes ALL OVER the CBD, Loskop road, residential areas, Forderville, etc. The rains will begin soon and that will be used as an excuse that you can’t repair the holes because it is wet. All the repairs should have been attended to during the WINTER.

The roads need to be resurfaced because the motorists are forced to drive all over the place. CONNOR STREET is one fine example of a contract being given to either pals or family that clearly don’t have the expertise about road engineering, as we can see.

READ THIS: Poor roads continue to plague Estcourt

No road cleaning is done. No pavement sweeping or even gutters are cleaned properly. Occasionally we get happy when we see a team cleaning the gutters, but the rubbish is piled underneath the bridges. All this throughout the ENTIRE CBD and RESIDENTIAL areas should have been cleaned up now before the rains start. Well over a month ago a team came to Albert Street to de-weed and clean the gutter.
Well, with the little effort they put in, the rubbish is still lying on the road alongside the gutter.

ALSO READ: Litter problem compounded in the CBD

Why can’t they just BAG it all when they clean? Forget about one of your 20 other departments that the job is assigned to because no one follows up and comes back. Pavements need to be cleaned daily to allow for people to walk on. Our pavements all need disinfecting.
We need our health inspector to be actively involved. We need to SEE her in action, taking pride in this town and making a difference. I know I am expecting far too much from any one of you, but it is your responsibility to put the town first and then yourselves. Take politics out of the equation and do what we pay you to do.

Roads need to be repaired to ensure the safety of the motorists. Loskop road is very dangerous. Wagon Road is also another road, which is dangerous.

So you need to take a good look at all the roads leading in and out of town as well as the residential areas. TRAFFIC LIGHTS: Red is go and green is go in this town. Crossing at an intersection, whether you are a pedestrian or a motorist, means nothing to anyone. Connor Street/Lorne Street, Connor Street/Albert Street, and Albert Street/ Harding Street are all go for motorists. Does no one care a hoot about law enforcement? In a meeting with the Municipal Manager and Mayor, I was informed that we only have TWO traffic vehicles for this town.

What happened to them all, the ones we had and the ones we claimed after the amalgamation? We had a very successful CANSA RELAY.
Unfortunately many stayed away or left due to the on-going water crisis Forderville lives with. We cannot have an event like this if the water problem doesn’t get resolved. Again I will make a point by saying; our rates are not being used for the town. I spoke to you, Jabu, many times about fixing the potholes up and down CANNA Avenue.

Yes, some were filled and I thank you for that, but there are still some very dangerous ones. I feared that some visitors to the Relay would have been in danger travelling that road, especially at night. An unsuccessful water meeting took place in Forderville, well that is no surprise.

READ THE STORY HERE: UPDATE: Uthukela’s no show at water meeting

People are sick and tired of nothing being done for them.

This is a problem that carries on from year to year and from mayor to mayor. Fresh water leaks have been reported on numerous occasions but be honest with the public; there is just no money to pay for ANY BILLS because this municipality is in such debt.

All the metal covers around town have been stolen from the water meters, manholes, etc. Can’t these scrap metal dealers not be responsible for not accepting these covers? There are some covers taken that will pose a very dangerous situation because they are on the road and even on the pavements. Our UTILITY BILLS, again they are delayed.

ALSO READ: Poor service delivery in Lorne Street becomes a hazard

Please explain and we want the truth behind this. It was totally unacceptable that we were billed for TWO months the last time. I know of a pensioner that usually only pays NO MORE than R230 that had to pay close to R1 500. When I went to enquire about it and to make sure she was on the data base (which she was), the excuse was, it hasn’t been to council yet, but she will be credited on the next bill. We will see! I am still awaiting the receipt of the BY-LAWS that was promised to me at a CPF meeting years ago. As usual, no one can be trusted to keep to their promises.

By the way, they have been passed and apparently it is an annual sitting for this great event. Jabu, you are the face of this town. Your staff represent the municipality and they work for the rates and tax payers.

You need the businesses of this town to carry you. So please, show them some respect and clean up so they can also enjoy the fruits of their work. A filthy, disgusting, stinking town doesn’t show very much. Maybe an account should be opened, by us, for rates and taxes and let us, the public handle it.

Again, as it has been mentioned many times, ESTCOURT won the prize for being the GEM of the Midlands. Maybe you don’t have the same feeling as we do about that, but it showed we had pride in this town. We won that because we took care of the people of this town first.

The lack of care for us is poor. The service delivery is very poor. Remember you are setting an example. What you do or don’t do, the people see all that and they behave in the same way.

READ THIS: ‘What do we pay rates for?’

If management don’t have respect for others, the people of this town behave the same way. Clearly witnessed at intersections. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. WE need to start with baby steps because it has gotten so bad that it looks impossible to handle. But you have to begin somewhere and the sooner the better.

I do know you have a HUGE staff capacity. So you need to implement a roster, team the staff up on different jobs, with a supervisor, so you don’t have 15 on a site and one working. Go and monitor jobs been handed out. Employ professional, skilled engineers to do a job properly the first time. It will cost initially but will be a huge saving later because they job won’t have to be done again.
Use our taxes wisely and if you can do without having parties to pay what you owe Eskom, petrol bills etc., to get money back into the account, then maybe you should. Close this chapter and start anew. I met DR ZWELI MKHIZE on board an SAA flight. We got talking before he took his seat next to me.

Asked me where I was from, and I told him. His next sentence was: “Am I safe to sit next to you?” I said: “Yes, I won’t eat you,” he laughed and that broke the ice. I had a very pleasant conversation with him and he told me to continue having HOPE. So Estcourt, we will continue striving to better this town but we need assistance from you Jabu.

Let us work in harmony and let us put Estcourt back on the map for good things.

Angela Keyter

No response was received from the municipality.

Click to receive news links via WhatsApp. Or for the latest news, visit our webpage or follow us on Facebook and Twitter