The builders of the Titanic said it was unsinkable and then the ship met an iceberg.
Many of us watch in alarm the fast collapsing municipalities under years of ANC mismanagement and incompetency. The latter is merely a mirror of the same within all the SOEs.
Here’s something to ponder. Ekurhuleni is a very big metro. It is not unthinkable that because of its size it will not collapse.
The signs are there for all to see: the regular power outages that are a result of years of poor/no maintenance of electrical sub-stations and equipment (on top of Eskom load-shedding), aged water pipes network (subject to leaks and bursts), non-working street lights and numerous roads pock-marked with potholes of varying sizes.
What’s even more shocking are the huge “bad debts” that accumulate every year. This is money the metro deems “uncollectable”. Strange when you consider how quick the metro issues cut-off notices.
Let’s not forget the small matter of millions lost through fraudulent and wasteful expenditure.
Of late we have learnt via the Boksburg Advertiser the poor maintenance of equipment and machinery that has resulted in delayed mowing of grass (look out for the plumes of smoke from mysteriously started fires).
Every year the shrinking ratepayer base is “oppressed” by above-inflation increases for service deliveries supplied by the metro. Are we actually receiving value for money? I think not.
Peter no longer wants to pay for sponger Paul.
Who ultimately has to pay to “fix” bankrupt SOEs and all the non-functional municipalities? Interesting to note that in some of the latter the residents have taken over supplying the municipal services.
