Tulbagh Ratepayers Inwoners Forum way forward

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=30 BGCOLOR="#0066CC" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=76 style=" border-bottom: 1px solid #3366CC;" BGCOLOR="#0066CC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Tulbagh Info Information</B></div> <div> Tulbagh Ratepayers Inwoners Forum way forward</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> </div> </td> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=28 style=" border-top: 1px solid #0066CC; border-left: 1px solid #0066CC;border-right: 1px solid #0066CC; border-bottom: 1px solid #0066CC;" BGCOLOR="#0066CC" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=404 width="100%" style=" border-left: 1px solid #3366CC;" BGCOLOR="#000066" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="120" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#0099CC HEIGHT= 15 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="local_news.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tulbagh News Page 1"><U>Back to Local News</U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Previous correspondence - if any - follows after in sequence below.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Letter from John Veschini to the community in support of TRIF</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>22 February, 2010</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>TRIF THE WAY FORWARD?</B></div> <bR> <div> Annual General Meeting of the Tulbagh Residents and Inwoners Forum to be held at the Tulbagh High School on 23 February, at 19h15.</div> <bR> <div> <B>From my point of view, the survival of TRIF as a ‘voice’ of the people of Tulbagh is vital as we go forward to what I consider a make-or-break point with this Municipality. Therefore, this AGM is important, as is an election of a new committee for the simple reason that Tulbagh is seriously under threat on the one hand and is on the threshold of great possibilities on the other.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>A. Why are we under threat?</B></div> <bR> <div> 1. The major threat are the two Power line corridors that are proposed to come through this valley – that means a possibility of four major power lines that may traverse this valley one day soon. The indecision regarding the power lines, the routes they will take etc. is already affecting the potential viability of some of the wonderful developments that were planned and will undoubtedly affect other developments in the future – aside from all the other serious impacts that these power lines will have on us as a community.</div> <bR> <div> 2. 10 years of almost total neglect of this town by the Witzenberg Municipality in respect of the roads of the town, no maintenance programs at all, which has resulted in an almost total destruction of the roads of our town in many cases and most others are following suit.</div> <bR> <div> 3. Another major threat to the town is the apparent lack of capacity, will, or decisiveness by the Municipality to control the massive influx of homeless people - to a point whereby the need for housing will soon be impossible to accommodate given that the original inhabitants and their families are also in need of housing.</div> <bR> <div> This influx in continuing even at this time – shacks in Chris Hani total well over 575 and are being added to on a weekly basis and there are at </div> <div> least 1000 backyard shacks in Witzenville and the number is growing. All these people will need proper homes and proper services. It is accepted that there is land owned by the Municipality and the costs of the housing (top structures) will be provided by Province or Government and possibly the finance for the planning and services too. However, a community needs other services such as schooling, health, welfare, recreational, library, crèche, parks, job opportunities, training facilities for youth etc. etc. The burden of most of these facilities will fall upon the shoulders of the Ratepayer eventually. </div> <bR> <div> Until all this happens, given that it took this municipality until 2007 to submit its housing application for the 57 odd houses that are </div> <div> planned to be constructed this year? a housing list of 2000 will very soon not even be enough and the housing needs of this expanding community will never be met. The biggest problem of the expanding population, is that there are clearly not enough job opportunities for all these people and there never could be without industrial development, which is unlikely, given the location of Tulbagh and the limited natural recourses and distance to the market place, Thus and even now, so many of the people living here are collected to work in other towns as far away as Wellington and Piketberg. Therefore, at this rate, Tulbagh will become a dormitory town for all the other towns in the area, who won't have the socio-economic problems which we will have and yet will be able to have a substantial labour pool available - at our expense.</div> <bR> <div> 4. The water reticulation system is almost totally in need of a complete replacement and upgrade with breakages still occurring all the time.</div> <bR> <div> 5. The storm water system is clogged and damaged in many areas and flooding has and will re-occur.</div> <bR> <div> 6. Apparent chaos in the Municipal accounts department with no clearly defined policy, questionable management processes and inequitable and unfair charges.</div> <bR> <div> 7. Inadequate garden refuse removal service.</div> <bR> <div> 8. An overburdened sewerage reticulation system with blockages occurring all too frequently.</div> <bR> <div> 9. Inadequate community participation in Local Government due to the Ward Committee’s not functioning under the Ward Councillors.</div> <bR> <div> 10. Dubious will and initiative by the Municipality to promote development, wealth and job creation possibilities for the expanding community, with some initiatives by members of the public going back as far as 2004 still without any decisions by Council and land that could be used for job creation projects being taken over by illegal shacks.</div> <bR> <div> 11. Litter in abundance and very little in the way of litter collection or clean-ups. Most drains all over the town and totally clogged with same.</div> <bR> <div> 12. Heavy pollution of the streams as a result of there being one toilet per 60 people in the informal settlements.</div> <bR> <div> 13. Basic plan submissions take over three months to be approved.</div> <bR> <div> 14. Little or no traffic control, little or no road marking, parking spaces not demarcated in Van der Stel Street, the Van der Stel Street Traffic Calming project has died, traffic signs illegible, or obscured by plant growth or graffiti.</div> <bR> <div> 15. Facilities such as payments for traffic fines, vehicle registrations, all done only in Ceres.</div> <bR> <div> 16. Facilities for learner licenses, driving licenses, all done in Ceres. No transport arrangements made or allowances made for the public of Tulbagh given the distances that they have to travel.</div> <bR> <div> 17. Farmers who have been rated as farm businesses, apparently are charged on the same basis as a business in the town but they receive no services from the Municipality at all.</div> <bR> <div> 18. Inadequate fire protection services based locally which are readily available.</div> <bR> <div> 19. Little or no response from members of the public in their individual approaches or complaints to the Municipality. Most letters, calls, etc. go unanswered or are the complains are unattended to.</div> <bR> <div> 20. A Resort (Klipriver) that has been loosing about half a million Rand a year for years, if what has not been spent and should have been spent on maintenance is taken into account. If this property is alienated –sold or let, there is no guarantee that we will ever know what happened to the money or where it has been spent, under the current financial system.</div> <bR> <div> 21. A type of governance in the Witzenberg which is from my perspective totally overburdened by politics, unstable political manoeuvrings or realignments, political appointments, a Mayoral Executive committee which is totally unnecessary and a financial drain on the coffers of the Municipality. These individuals, aside from the mayor, draw enormous salaries (three to four hundred thousand Rand per annum – plus benefits). The Mayor draws probably around the R500k to 600k plus benefits and she has a PA assistant (glorified secretary) earning close on R300k a year? (Have not the time to get the exact figures for the above today).</div> <bR> <div> 22. A Municipality situated in Ceres, where all the best equipment is located, the services are of a high standard and little or no interest is shown in the plight of Tulbagh.</div> <bR> <div> 23. Accounting systems and a budget which does not indicate the income and expenses of the individual towns and there is no way of really knowing what the ‘split of recourses’ are between the towns and whether we are being treated fairly in relation to the Rates and services we pay for – and what part of the bloated salaries are apportioned to Tulbagh.</div> <bR> <div> I could go on and on……………….</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>B. What are the options towards great possibilities?</U></B></div> <bR> <div> 1. A strong and vigorous Committee which sees everything, knows what it is about and has the energy and will to take on the Municipality forcefully and determinedly to get what is our rightful level of service delivery in terms of our rights under the Constitution, the Municipal Structures and Municipal Systems Acts towards better and adequate governance of our town</div> <bR> <div> 2. The right to govern ourselves democratically and efficiently.</div> <bR> <div> 3. Remain in dispute and appeal to the Minister of Local Government, backed by a referendum or petition of the residents of Tulbagh and surrounding areas to be allowed to be de-amalgamated from the Witzenberg Municipality.</div> <bR> <div> 4. If such an approach fails, a Constitutional Court challenge to get our town back and our rights in terms of the Constitution protected. I am sure we are not alone in being part of unwieldy, dysfunctional, bloated, top heavy ‘mega municipalities’ who cannot and will not deliver now and in the future. It is the smaller towns amalgamated with them which suffer.</div> <bR> <div> 5. A Plenary type Local Council system whereby there is no Mayoral Executive Committee, Councillors elected from the electorate in demarcated wards – politically or otherwise (the latter preferred), who would be paid expenses only, a Mayor with a casting vote, suitable staff for our needs and assistance from Province or private enterprise or Consultants for expertise which we don't have.</div> <bR> <div> 6. Applications for funding from Government, Province or District Municipality for infrastructure developments and Housing, as is done by the current Municipality.</div> <bR> <div> 7. A chance to get our dignity and pride in this wonderful town back.</div> <bR> <div> 8. An opportunity to develop according to our needs in a controlled and well planned manner, create developments which will create sustainable jobs for our people, maintain our historical character and preserve the rich cultural heritage of the town and surrounding area.</div> <bR> <div> I could go on and on………….</div> <bR> <div> Folks, I am not dreaming, nor am I idealistic. This can happen if you want to make it happen. I talked to Jaap Kelder of the National Ratepayers </div> <div> Association yesterday and explained my views on self governance and de-amalgamation to him and he indicated that his Association was on a similar path. So we are not alone.</div> <bR> <div> Try to be at the AGM, get involved and try to make a difference, or pay the price of your apathy?</div> <bR> <div> John Veschini</div> <bR> <div> Tulbagh</div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>