Considering the overabundance of depressing news one is subjected to these days – especially in recent times what with the torment of loadshedding, the Phala Phala saga et al – writing a column should not add to the despair and frustrations.
Rather focus on more light-hearted issues and some humour to bring some measure of relief.
But sometimes there is no avoiding the hardcore stuff visited upon us by a confederacy of dunces.
The comedy of errors – or rather comedy of laxity – by government and road authorities tasked with getting the North Coast’s key arterial routes functional again, serve as another good example.
In the aftermath of the April floods, every politician and his dog trotted out assurances that restoring damaged infrastructure would receive the highest priority.
Priority?
Eight months later, while the negative impact on the local business sector and frustrated commuters linger on, not a single stone has been moved or glued together to open up the M4 Tongaat and N2 Umhlali river bridges.
Equally infuriating are the unsubstantiated claptrap those in authority tried to sell us during this time.
If they were to be believed, tenders for the construction of a temporary steel bridge across the Tongaat River would have been finalised by mid-September and open for traffic by mid-November.
Hello? It is December already guys, and only last week Sanral confirmed that tenders for the M4 project have yet to be awarded.
Go figure!
Apparently the first round of tenders produced little to no results, necessitating another tender call.
Are they really trying to tell us no suitable and qualified tenders presented themselves for a contract of this magnitude? Or are there other factors in play here?
Spin me another story.
And we were also informed work on the Umhlali River bridge would have begun in October and finished within three months.
Motorists along this route have yet to see a single construction worker having lunch next to his bag of superglue meant to shift and hold the bridge in place.
What is it these people do in their offices one wonders given the urgency of the projects.
Perhaps they don’t fully grasp the meaning of urgency (urgency: noun – importance requiring swift action).
The real sadness is that we, the public, have been pummelled into a state of “die moer in” (dismay) fatigue.
There comes a time when one realises that no amount of pleading, angry responses, venomous thoughts, desperate actions or whatever simply make no difference to the perceived lack of proactive capabilities and commitments of our authorities. Snail’s pace it will be – if that.
So, here we sit, flabbergasted by it all with little hope of relief any time soon.
Follow The North Coast Courier on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube for breaking news
Telegram Broadcast Service: https://t.me/joinchat/yJULuN8NaCs5OGM0
WhatsApp Broadcast Service: Add The Courier to WhatsApp at 082 792 9405 and WhatsApp your name and surname to be added.
