Letter: Why does Randfontein still look this way after 32 years?
Resident raises concerns about councillors, municipal officials and their responsibility towards the communities they serve.
• Frans le Grange writes:
The process of becoming a City Manager should ideally work as follows:
• Start working for the council as a junior clerk.
Prepare for and complete the necessary examinations to qualify for promotion to a senior position in the following fields:
• Law department
• Administration
• Staff management
• Attend head of department meetings
• Attend council meetings
Departments a city manager should oversee with the heads of departments:
• Accounts – finances
• Electrical department
• Water and sanitation
• Parks and sewerage plants
• Refuse removal and the refuse dumping site
• Engineering – town planning
• Roadworks
• Traffic department
• Garage – municipal vehicles
• Fire brigade
• Staff
• Public Relations Officer
• Pest control
• Health
• Administration – council meetings, agendas and minutes
Who in South Africa has followed this process to become a City Manager?
It seems that City Managers are being appointed without the necessary experience or knowledge. Do City Managers really understand their responsibilities when managing a town or city?
Some councils shift responsibilities to a political figure, such as the Mayor. But what does a political Mayor know about all the laws and by-laws that must be implemented, and what does he or she know about managing a town or city?
In coalition metros, a person who puts themselves forward as a councillor can suddenly become the Mayor of a metropolitan council. Isn’t this one of the reasons our towns and cities are in the state they are today?
I am asking a simple question: Why does our town look the way it does after 32 years? About every five years, a new City Manager is appointed. In other words, Randfontein has had five City Managers over the past 32 years.
Municipal officials and councillors should also reside within the jurisdiction of the towns they serve, namely Randfontein and Westonaria. They should develop a heartbeat for the town and its people. They should use the local facilities, play golf, buy their groceries and attend church here. Residents should be able to see them out and about in their own communities.
Staff members who live outside the town simply use the shortest route to get to their offices. They do not even have an idea of what the town looks like or the state it is in.
Where are the councillors who are supposed to supervise the management of our town? I used my time and my car to vote for them. A councillor who has been elected must work for the voters and taxpayers, especially considering that they receive a salary, a cellphone, a laptop and a pension.
