Dear eThekwini mayor and city managers, the municipality and particularly the city of Durban is being run to the ground by utter incompetence and embarrassing leadership and this has been going on for a very long time.
One only has to drive through some of the suburbs to see this.
Deteriorating and poorly marked roads, unkempt verges, overgrown trees, poorly lit streets, illegal dumping of waste … the list goes on, reflecting the downward spiral this municipality is undergoing.
The hard-working ratepayers are at the end of their tether.
To compound matters, the constant disruptions of water and electricity supply (not due to load shedding) are not only an inconvenience and an annoyance, but a costly affair to a struggling community trying to make ends.
Repairs undertaken to restore water supplies are temporary, and no sooner is a problem fixed, than there is another burst pipe elsewhere.
This is not only unacceptable, but intolerable.
Are contractors employed by the municipality really competent enough to carry out their functions efficiently and effectively, ensuring that there is no recurrence of the problem, or are certain contractors awarded work on a pal-to-pal basis, even if their competency is unworthy of such a contract?
What oversight does Exco have in terms of assessing the quality of workmanship, and if any, what action is being taken – again, if any?
Barring some of the so-called elite or upmarket areas, the rest of the municipality is becoming a patent disgrace to all of us as citizens and you as the “elected” leadership bear the responsibility for improvement and/or immediate correction.
My correspondence is not intended as a threat but a severe caution that, should immediate remedies not be put in place, then the people are going to speak – and I intend leading the chorus, as I too am at the end of my tether.
The groundswell of anger and resentment that initially was a tiny ripple is now reaching tidal wave proportions and this could spell disaster for all and sundry.
As the chair of a civic association, I am a breath away from calling for rolling mass action that will ultimately transform into a defiance campaign of withholding payment for utilities until we are guaranteed actionable and realisable service delivery that is not only satisfactory, but that is commensurate with what we pay for. Do not underestimate the power of the purse.
NARENDH GANESH | Durban North
Daily News