![](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2013/07/writing-a-letter.jpg)
I am painfully aware of, and deeply distressed by, the filth and neglect prevailing in our suburbs.
William Nicol Drive, from Kingfisher Drive to Fourways Boulevard and beyond, is a disgrace, as is the taxi rank below Fourways Crossing.
The intersection of Willam Nicol Drive and Sandton Drive, where an admirable effort was made to create a garden, has been neglected to the extent that it is now a desert of weeds and dead plants.
I think we have lost sight of the fact that we are a third world country, with standards and attitudes befitting our status as such.
In addition, the apathy and disinterest of city officials, coupled with our rates and taxes being siphoned off for other purposes, makes this a battle we can’t win.
As a result, I concentrate my efforts and energy on causes toward which I can make a meaningful contribution, and turn a blind eye. One can’t whip a dead horse forever.