Nigelites fed up with state of town

Ratepayers have taken to the streets and parks in their free time over weekends in an attempt to tidy up the town.

A resident sent this open letter she wrote to Nigel Town Council on September 29 to HERAUT for publication: 

 “Nigel Town Council, on your webpage I note that there are various categories one can use to report problems. However, cleanliness does not appear to be a priority as no mention is made at all. “As a ratepayer both personally and as a business owner in Nigel, I would like to strongly object to the absolute negligence paid to the cleanliness of our town. “There is no maintenance being done on municipal buildings and surrounds.

“The Town Hall ‘gardens’ have not been attended to for months. The outside lights on the building burn 24/7. The parking lots adjacent to the town hall have not been cleared for years. The inside of the town hall is in a shocking condition. Staff who ‘work’ in the town hall can be seen sitting on the steps day in and day out doing nothing but sun themselves.

There is a small wall in front of the town hall which fell over years ago and the remains have been left there. The leaves never get swept up in the streets and this causes blockages when it rains.

“Litter and other garbage is being dumped all over and not being picked up at all. Although this is not the fault of council, council has to take a zero per cent tolerance towards this trend and take the appropriate action immediately. By not doing anything council is condoning this and it will get worse.

“Parks are in a shocking condition – no ‘garden’ maintenance is being done at all. There is litter on a continuous basis piling up. “The public swimming pool has been left to go to complete ruin. “The library and surrounding gardens have not been attended to for years.

“Trees are not being pruned (these are municipal property on the pavement) and if and when they are it is only on one side of the road. A tree in front of our offices broke last year and caused considerable damage to property.

“A recent ‘upgrade’ to the entrance of Nigel – at a huge cost I’m sure – was recently undertaken and has now become a taxi parking lot! “The streams in and around Nigel are contaminated and sewerage is flowing into them – nothing is being done. “Street lights are not being maintained and there are many lights that have not been working for years.

“There have been numerous reports of excessive noise coming from the industrial site – this has been reported – nothing is being done.

“As a business, we are forced to pay a ‘litter picking fee’ each month – if we see a worker actually picking up any litter once every two to three months that is too much. The pavements and gutters in the roads are not kept free of weeds and debris. In front of our offices we keep it neat and clean so why do we have to pay for a non-existent service?

“In recent weeks a local group has been formed whereby they attempt to clean up public places at their own expense. The first project was around the public library and the second project was around the town hall. This is an absolute disgrace that private individuals have to resort to this because council will not attend to these matters. The rates which council receives from private as well as businesses are not small sums and include keeping the town clean and maintained. “Excuses range from ‘it’s not my department’, ‘contractors have not been found and/or appointed’, ‘contractors only mow the lawn they don’t clean up the cuttings’ to ‘the supplier of xyz has not been finalised’.

It is totally unacceptable. “If council has employed incompetent management, they need to be fired and replaced with people who know what they are doing and actually do what they are paid to do.”

HERAUT will continue to follow up with council regarding a variety of issues in and around Nigel.

Residents are welcome to send photographs or report issues to heraut@heraut1.co.za. Add your name and telephone number and a journalist will contact you.