EDITOR – The letter headlined ‘Those who fall on hard times rely on customers‘ authored by Cllr Andre Beetge bears reference.
One could not feel more saddened by the deteriorated state of mind of this person who crafted such an article, who himself fails to inspire confidence.
All matters raised by Beetge are issues which are common course in society across the country. What is lacking from a person who holds public office is well represented in this letter, which is to provide possible solutions. This letter is better placed in a bin closest to his office desk and if he could have located the delete button prior to sending it to you, it would have saved him the embarrassment of reading it again.
Having personal encounters with Beetge’s character and how he handles community issues is sickening to say the least. Allow me to quote him verbatim in a ward committee meeting, where he said: “Don’t spoil members of the community when they complain about problems. Let them (community members) first try and resolve their own issues before you (ward committee members) intervene”.
His so-called in-depth understanding of the social ills and its effects on society remain a deeply contested territory. Amanzimtoti CPF afforded this delusional leader an opportunity to engage face-to-face with the national Minister of Police on crime-related matters affecting Amanzimtoti and its people in early 2016, which he rejected for reasons I can only think were political. He is at his best when the blame is shifted anywhere but taking accountability for his so-called leadership.
As far back as 2013, a letter was published in which the then author stated the immediate response to the drug and prostitution phenomenon is based on the principle of demand. The demand remains prevalent, hence the supply to feed the demand. Our very own sheriff namely Beetge is seen driving around at night, capturing his whereabouts yet failing to capture a single transaction taking place between customer and supplier.
The question should be why does he not take pictures and publish them on his social media to set the example of naming and shaming? This takes me to another point which reveals the mindset of a ‘so-called leader’.
When the then-ward committee questioned Beetge on his use of a cellphone while driving, putting the lives of innocent people at risk, his response was and I quote him: “If and when caught, I will pay the fine”. The 107th mayor of New York, Rudolph William Louis Giuliani successfully reduced crime in his city by adopting an aggressive enforcement and deterrence strategy which involved a crackdown on relatively minor offenses. Drawing inspiration from the latter, one would safely say that Beetge should set the example on dealing with unlawfulness and be above reproach.
Many more examples of Beetge feeding the problem can be made available and some are even made public on the ward committee’s Facebook page but to get to my conclusion, the five core values of a leader are respect others, serve all, show justice, manifest honesty and build community.
TOMMY ACKERMANN JNR
Amanzimtoti CPF Public Relations Officer
Why no report on CPF issues?
EDITOR – Given that the author appears insistent on drawing attention to assumed office, one would have to accept that the content of the submission was indeed part of a pondered agenda by the (some would say controversially elected) Amanzimtoti Community Police Forum (CPF)?
That being accepted, could one further assume, given the content of the submission, that discussions only extend towards my activities or analysis of ‘verbatim’ communication on various unrelated platforms?
Flattering as it might be, that is actually not what the CPF should be discussing during their secret encounters. Stumbling into a Freemasons meeting is more likely, as who knows where and when the CPF meets?
Shouldn’t they instead be deliberating about enhanced co-operation between the community and the SA Police Services, thus finding collective solutions towards eradicating crime – or possibly investigating public funding that allegedly went astray from the CPF bank account?
One could even expect them to express concern about their yet to be received answer or action in relation to any of the matters contained in a memorandum they handed to the Minister of Police almost a year ago during a trumped-up political facade in the run-up to the 2016 municipal election? Then again, the man clearly has his hands full keeping bigger fish off the hook.
Would it be too much to ask that we rather be indulged with a report back on the actual activities of the CPF?
CLLR ANDRE BEETGE
DID YOU KNOW?
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