Potter’s potshots ‘not fair’ says HCM

THE Hibiscus Coast Municipality has cried ‘foul’ after Councillor Carole Potter claimed in last week’s Herald that Port Shepstone was in a desperate state of neglect.

Councillor Potter claimed she had been fobbed off by many HCM officials whenever she tried to highlight many pressing issues in her ward.

With respect to one of the complaints about the ugly, broken down fence on the main road, HCM spokesman Simon April insisted that they were hounding the Department of Transport (DOT) to address the issue.

“We can’t be held liable as it’s not on our land. However, we have asked DOT to attend to this matter urgently,” he said.

Concerning another issue, Mr April said they had appointed a service provider, Masidlale Sonke Sport and Development Academy, to manage the Port Shepstone Borough Grounds located at Mitchell Drive. The previous lessee’s contract was terminated.

The newly appointed service provider will administer and manage the facility for the period of nine years.

Responding to electricity issues, he said that the municipality was bound by Eskom’s load-shedding schedule.

However, he confirmed that there were problems in Berea Road and Sugar Mill Road and surrounding areas because a road contractor had accidentally cut electrical cables with a TLB.

They fixed the problem as quickly as they could, but Mr April still apologised to residents for the inconvenience.

Regarding the caravan park, Mr April said the municipality had identified nine families who lived there illegally.

“Five of the nine families were identified as destitute. Hence, the municipality has decided to allocate them temporary houses where they will be transported to soon.”

The four remaining families would be evicted as they had failed to comply with several written notices to vacate the premises.

Mr April disagreed that law enforcement officers had taken no action against driving school vehicles which parked illegally on the public road, blocking motorists from entering St Katharine’s Anglican Church.

“Our officers enforce the laws on a daily basis in that area. However, we concede that Port Shepstone town has parking challenges. The town has grown with 30 000 registered vehicles in the 90s now up to 58 000.”

Mr April felt it was unfortunate that many issues were reported to the media ‘instead of using our efficient customer service system’ which provided regular updates via cellphones after complaints were lodged.

Communities were urged to call the customer care line at 039 688 2027, or sms 32061 or email services@hcm.gov.za; (R1.00 per SMS).

He felt it was unfair to have a blanket view that the municipality was neglecting Port Shepstone and this perception could not go unchallenged.

He said the municipality prided itself on the ‘catalytic projects’ and developments which were located in the town:

* The renovation and rehabilitation of the Port Shepstone beachfront;

* The installation of new environmentally friendly aesthetic lighting ;

* The Justice Park construction project currently under way;

* The multi–million rand transport intermodal facility was also at an advanced planning stage;

* In addition to these, projects to upgrade Port Shepstone Museum and Port Shepstone library were in the final planning stage.

“It is also worth mentioning that Port Shepstone Town has been adopted for “Development of Small Towns” with projects to be funded by COGTA in partnership with the municipality. We are currently working on the business plan. The municipality is confident that these catalytic projects will add value to the development of the town and encourage more tourism into the area.”

He said that HCM was doing its best to ensure that the Port Shepstone town, like all other areas, was attractive to visitors in line with their vision of being ‘a thriving, well-managed, tourist-friendly, national leader – providing all its inhabitants with quality services in a safe and healthy environment’.

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