Cape Town - The Kalk Bay/St James special ratings area, established less than three months ago despite strong objections from residents, is already showing signs of strain.
Mounting concerns about dwindling security - especially the patrols of the St James tidal pool - and poor cleansing, have led irate residents to accuse the SRA of “stealing ratepayers’ assets”.
Residents pay the municipality an extra R47 for every R1 million of the value of their properties for the top-up services.
In a strongly-worded email to the SRA’s steering committee, Robin von Holdt raises concerns about the SRA’s withdrawal of a R1 million contract for 24-hour security.
“The SRA is an offensive bureaucracy. This current security issue undermines its credibility fully and totally and confirms the utter and appalling incompetence of the SRA at a practical level.”
The Kalk Bay/St James SRA was one of five new areas announced by the City of Cape Town in June.
But the cracks were evident even then. The city almost rejected the SRA application after residents complained that the steering committee coerced support and manipulated the findings of the residents’ survey so that they would get the required majority support of 60 percent plus one.
Security concerns have again stoked the flames of dissatisfaction.
“We the community were lied to at the outset by the SRA sales force on a number of instances. The manipulation and shades of grey, applied jointly by the SRA and the council to get it approved, were a personally disgusting experience,” said Von Holdt.
One resident noted in correspondence to the SRA that the entire annual budget was R1.2 million, just slightly more than what was once spent on security for the area.
“It is simply not good enough that the SRA sends occasional foot patrols. This is retrogressive. We were supposed to receive services additional to what we had. The reality is that there are now less services now that the SRA has assumed responsibility,” she said.
Bert Stafford, of the SRA’s steering committee, said the change in security would be raised at the next meeting, and there would still be regular patrols.
The SRA board has also indicated that these concerns, reportedly of a handful of residents, were misguided.
Security in the area had been curtailed by the municipality before the formation of the SRA, allegedly because of budget constraints, said ward councillor Dave D’Alton.
Cape Argus