CCPO’s valuable work acknowledged, but…

EDITOR – I guess it’s only a matter of time before discussion on the CCPO matter is closed, but allow me to respond to the letter by the CCPO’s Richard Allkins published in the Sun of 24 June.

As far as I am aware, no-one has criticised the CCPO as such, and no-one wishes to break down the CCPO as suggested by Mr Allkins.

On the contrary, everyone acknowledges its valuable work.

Surely legitimate questions arising from legitimate community concerns regarding the take-over of the CCPO, and the motives behind this, are quite normal and acceptable? Far from ‘setting the record straight’ as stated by Mr Allkins, more questions arise. In fact, the plot thickens.

According to Allkins, the Private Security Industry Authority (PSIRA) requires the CCPO to relocate to the old Toti CBD. The CCPO have operated for years without PSIRA intervention, so why are premises now a problem?

And who owns the CBD buildings in which the new office is to be set up, rent-free, for five years?

JEFF VAN BELKUM

EDITOR – In response to the letter by Jeff van Belkum.

The CCPO is a community organisation that has as its leadership members who are elected by the membership in an open meeting advertised beforehand.

I am not sure how Mr Van Belkum sees this as a take-over? Just like in any electoral event, there are those who are going to be happy with the result and those not. The current committee is made up of some old and some new members.

As far as the office move is concerned, according to section 7 of the PSIRA regulations, the office “must be an immovable structure”, something we currently do not comply with. While we have been fortunate that PSIRA has as yet not issued a violation in this regard, it is one of those things that is not a problem until it is a problem, as we discovered once before in our past.

While the container office we were sponsored by M Projects has served us well for the last six years, we have been limited as the space in the current office has become more cramped as our operation has expanded. It is no longer suitable for operational meetings and it is not the most comfortable for the admin staff who work there.

The CBD office was offered to us by George Lithgow, free of charge for five years. These offices have been totally revamped at no cost to the CCPO, The floors have been tiled with porcelain tiles, new ceilings have been installed and the walls freshly painted to give the CCPO a professional look and image.

The other advantage is that our vehicles will no longer be exposed to the elements as the new offices have covered parking.

The use of these premises represents a saving to the CCPO of R10,000 a month or R600,000 over five years. The decision to make the move was debated vigorously for a number of weeks, but in the end it was voted on and approved with only George Lithgow abstaining. I believe if you come down and look at the new office, you will see that this is a positive move and one that will be to the benefit of the CCPO going forward.

RICHARD ALLKINS

DID YOU KNOW?
Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics.
To receive news links via WhatsApp, send an invite to 061 694 6047
The South Coast Sun is also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest – why not join us there?

Do you have more information pertaining to this story?
Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.