Rome wasn’t built in a day, but burned down in one.
This serves is a stark reminder how important prudence and vigilance is, for no matter how long one takes to build up something great, it sometimes takes singular actions for the hard work to disintegrate. In the local government space, we are reminded of this daily owing to several compounding factors.
Crumbling infrastructure, non-existent maintenance plans and rampant energy loss are among the most significant contributors to poor ratepayer and resident confidence in our local municipality.
The work of opposition councillors has become significantly more difficult in most recent years, as they increasingly have to fulfil the role of a municipal call centre because of the unresponsiveness of officials and call centre operators.
The recent rollout of the model for the SCADA system, which promises to aid with remote monitoring and the speed with which the electricity department can respond, is certainly welcomed.
Whether it will be effectively implemented remains to be seen.
October brings about the start of the second quarter of the municipal financial year. It remains a significant period in the financial year, as this reporting period will cover the performance against the adopted budgets and will show spending against conditional grant allocations.
In addition to this, it indicates to some degree the trajectory being set for the next two quarters, specifically around spending of the capital budget and project rollout.
In ward 22, the following projects have already been completed: rehabilitation of Basil Hulett, Garland, Fairway and Club roads. The repairs at Colwyn Drive will kick off in the coming week and this long-awaited repair is being funded internally and not through disaster grant funding received by national Treasury.
Among the other upgrades to look forward to in the ward is that a consultant has been appointed to finalise the project scope for the Salt Rock main beach ablution block.
There are also some other exciting community funded initiatives underway, and I encourage residents to align with the active partners in our community.
One of the most remarkable things about our community is that we certainly unite to create change, something we could never achieve as individuals. We are certainly Salt Rock Strong!!
I can be reached on 073 664 1830 /privi.m@gmail.com
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