Angry residents went down to Jetty 3 early on Friday morning to inspect the damage that was caused by Youth day celebrations the previous day. The whole area of the jetty was strewn with litter and empty alcohol bottles. Residents from Macadamia, Da Vinci, Aqua Vista, Villa Harbour, Bataleur, Aqua Flats, Disa Flats and residents surrounding the Jetty were kept up till past 22h30 by the most terrible noise ever heard in these parts. Some call it music but none of the residents living in the area thought that was the case. This concerned citizen would rather call it a cacophony from hell.
We are all aware that there is a big problem at the dam so what caused it and how do we resolve the problem?
Currently there is no supervision, no security or any responsible party that is in control of what is happening at Jetty 3. The Lions Club and the Bass Masters at least kept the gates of hell from opening and the Wild Wild West where lawlessness is the order of the day from happening at resident’s’ doorsteps. The Greater Tzaneen Municipality has got a security firm that won the tender for security services to the municipality, some of the security guards can be re-assigned to the Jetty. As this citizen has seen with his own eyes, some of these guards sit around and do nothing anyway.
The entrance fee needs to be re-instated as a source of income as well a deterrent for unwanted elements in our community that want to abuse the facilities.
Who gave permission for the event? Someone at the Municipality needs to be held responsible for events like this. In the past when big event took place the Lions Club had the book thrown at them. Disaster management plans, Public Liability Insurance, Police presence and a host of other rules and regulations. Why are these rules and regulations suddenly no longer relevant? Who wants to benefit out of this scenario, because as we all know these days that is the norm.
According to the Public Amenities By-Law of 2004 published on the Greater Tzaneen Municipality’s website, rules and entrance fees can be imposed upon the public for the use of public amenities. There is a set of rules laid down and displayed at the entrance to the Jetty. It prescribes entrance fees and the like. The by-laws specifically prohibit the use of alcohol in public places. So who enforces these by-laws? It is a municipal law so the municipality’s strong arm needs to enforce. Pity you will almost never get a hold of a municipal traffic officer when he needs to do something for you ne? A few weeks ago a member of municipality gave out his number with regards to noise complaints regarding to dogs, maybe he is the guy to call.
Just remember on the other side of the coin is our property values. The more lawless the area becomes, the more the value of our properties start to diminish. So the municipal values of some highly priced properties will also tumble. The result being less rates and taxes for the municipality.
Whatever we do as a community needs to happen fast. The municipality has been trying to pass new by-laws, luckily for us they have not been getting the turnout to pass them, so keep your eyes peeled for advertisements on this and make your voice heard.
Concerned citizen of Aqua Park.
DA Stance : All people have to have the right to use public amenities without being discriminated against. People have the right of privacy, expression and freedom of speech amongst others. Every citizen though has to observe those same rights to every other citizen and not infringe on it. All laws need to be observed and abided by.
