I have received more than one phone call from highly irate members of the public over issues such as potholes and water leaks. These people have let me know unambiguously that the current situation is unacceptable.
I agree; it is unacceptable, but that being said, we are being forced to accept it purely through the fact that council is doing nothing to address these issues.
One of the most difficult concepts to explain to the public is that of opposition politics and the ever increasingly difficulty of being an opposition councillor in this metro. The country and the province and indeed the metro is run and controlled by the ANC.
What this effectively means is that they have the majority vote of items such as the budget. It is their budget and thus their inability to plan that affects us, the rate payers, on a daily basis.
Along with this are the official rules and guidelines of a public office bearer, aka councillors, wherein I am not allowed to instruct and or interfere with any city official in the course of their duties, except in terms of delegated powers given by the council, in this case the powers of the oversight committee.
What this means is that as an opposition councillor, I need to get things done through relationships and negotiation, this is not a corporate wherein I can instruct city officials to do their jobs. No, I have to ask nicely for this to happen.
So to the community I serve, I am sorry that the current regime cannot give you what you need and deserve. I am sorry that the arrogance of the ruling party means that you have to suffer from inadequate services and poor planning, I am sorry that they have effectively tied my hands behind my back through legislation and rulings.
I am however not sorry for facing the overwhelming tide of problems head-on and going from department to department daily, weekly and monthly over and over and over to push, plead and negotiate for resolutions to these problems.
I am not sorry that I am available to you to vent your frustrations out upon. I accept your pain because it is my pain, this is my city too. I am citizen here, I raise my family here and I am affected by the same conditions here and I will continue to be here, through the good and the bad.
Also read the following columns
How long must white people suffer?
Why I don’t do 67 minutes for Mandela
