By Phil C. Pretorius, Alderman and Chief Whip, Midvaal Municipality:

In the Midvaal Council meeting of 26 April 2023, an item was tabled to award bonuses to the Midvaal Administration Management team for the municipality’s ninth clean audit report of 2021/2022. In questions directed by the opposition, the comment is made that there is a pothole outside in Mitchel Street and therefore none of them deserve any bonuses. In response to the comment, the Midvaal Mayor Ald. Peter Teixeira said that no one in any position in any career would ever earn bonuses if they were evaluated that way. If a plumber experienced a single leak in his last year of work or the car mechanic returns a single vehicle with a weird noise and therefor earns no bonus, the term BONUS will no longer exist. As far as Midvaal’s Administrative Management is concerned, they are the team that took care of the ninth clean audit report and was named the Top Municipality in the country – and did not receive any bonuses or increases for several years.

Where these allocations are more financially driven, the municipality’s 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 budgets are more service delivery driven. Alderman (Ald.) Teixeira emphasizes again that it does not help the municipality to achieve a clean audit but the residents cannot feel or see it on the ground. For that reason, substantive portions of the current and proposed new budget (currently lying in libraries for comment) have been dedicated to the purchase of new service delivery vehicles and infrastructure. Recently installed infrastructure includes the Sicelo substation which will provide electricity with pay meters to that community. This will serve more households with electricity and also combat theft and overloading. More income to the municipality also means better maintenance and less theft, which in turn means fewer unplanned power outages for the rest of Midvaal, especially Meyerton. On a human rights level, it gives more human dignity to our communities who also deserve it.

On numerous occasions Ald. Teixeira asked the various communities that do not have all the services if they would be willing to pay for them and the answer was a clear yes. He also regularly uses the opportunity to proclaim to all the communities that your municipal account is the first and most important obligation in every household’s budget. After that comes the DSTV, other luxuries and electronic devices that are often revealed through satellite dishes on the roofs of houses. Information, training and awareness are therefore just as important, in all communities. Ald. Teixeira concludes his answer by mentioning that everyone should keep in mind that we notice the one or two potholes (on Provincial roads maybe more), but not the work that happens behind the scenes. For example, think about what it takes for the water to reach your faucet every time you turn on that faucet and how many people had to contribute to make it happen. Think about the maintenance of the electricity grid and the sewage system. When someone then cites isolated problems as total municipal collapse it is plainly unfair. In my opinion it compares to one or two hairs in your mother’s hairdo that were blown out of position by an unexpected whirlwind and people then make her out to be the most untidy and “unpleasant” person they know. Simply unfair and inappropriate.

We are also so brainwashed by popularity not to count our blessings that we would rather criticize before thanking someone. In the Meditation of 26 April 2023, Yolandi Kok says that a friend of hers, when she is depressed, counts her money. It sounds conceited but she apparently saved well to collect R1 million for her retirement. It feels to me that when she counts it, she feels good about her accomplishments and future and by focusing on the positive, she doesn’t give UNFAIR RECOGNITION to the few small negatives that haunt her. Yolandi explains that it’s really about “counting your blessings”. She says that Paul is in prison and writes a letter full of joy to the Philippians, because since he was saved he “counts” other things and  other things “count”. I look at Midvaal today and count my blessings.

Midvaal greetings.

Phil.