Stakeholders unite to clean up as strike continues

With service delivery disabled for the last two months by striking Ray Nkonyeni Municipality workers, the South Coast is being forced to endure the stench and subsequent health hazards.

As the strike continues, there seems to be no end in sight, and now the Port Shepstone Business Forum (PSBF), together with the Albersville Ratepayers’ Association (ARA), are consulting lawyers with a view to withhold rates payments should the protracted strike action continue.

Communities stand together
Various ratepayers associations, business forums, volunteers and businesses embarked on the formidable task of collecting and disposing of refuse during the peak holiday season.

At the same time, due to a power outage, they helped to restore power to most parts of Port Shepstone, Oslo Beach, Marburg, Albersville and Umtentweni.

“We worked closely with RNM management and officials, helped to locate faults, provided support to contractors doing emergency work, sometimes working until the early hours of the morning,” said human rights activist and former RNM chief whip Selvan Chetty

The many organisations and community members who stepped up and assisted were praised for their sterling efforts.

Chetty has been praised by the public for standing up and leading a group of dedicated community volunteers, businessmen and other stakeholders in what became a major cleanup operation.

In addition to being hands-on, Chetty was also appointed by the PSBF and ARA to help facilitate talks and find solutions.

His delegation met with both the union representatives and RNM with a few proposals to break the deadlock.

Both RNM and the unions expressed appreciation for Chetty’s efforts.

Chetty said: “This cleanup operation is a collective effort. It would not have been possible without the support of local businesses, the PSBF, various ratepayers associations, Good Samaritans and groups such as Tidy Towns. “

He also thanked all security companies for their support in providing security to volunteers.

Anger and frustration
On behalf of the PSBF, the chairperson, Yunus Moosa, expressed the deep anger and frustration felt by business owners and ratepayers towards RNM’s leadership and the striking workers.

He said that the community’s sympathy towards the cause of the workers is now being lost due to acts of vandalism and sabotage. “These criminal acts will further alienate you (workers) from the community that employs you,” he said.

Many have said the strike has caused harm not only to the environment but to the image of the South Coast, as tourism is a vital part of the local economy, and ratepayers are directly affected by such actions caused by the strike.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram