Promote tourism, solve the problems

George van der Westhuizen of Auckland Park writes:

After reading your Times for week ending 17 November, it occurred to me that we should regard tourists as paying guests and as such we should make a serious effort not to burden them with the problems we face on a daily basis.

Tourists are our free advertisement in their countries of origin.

Currently we are facing a water crisis caused by deterioration of the bulk supply system.

The question arises – how long did it take to reach critical proportions necessitating high level restrictions and what was done and must still be done to obviate restrictions – and how long will it take?

Do we have statistics on the increase in demand in order to do planning for the future?

Certainly with increase in the population, the demand for water must increase and this can be measured by the increase in building projects for accommodation and other sectors of the economy.

What is being done by the municipality with regard to proper and efficient maintenance of the reticulation of water supplies?

Wastage caused by burst pipes, theft of old metal meters, poorly installed new meters and all other water leaks should be regarded as emergencies and treated immediately.

The purpose of proper planning and preventative action is to prevent emergencies and crisis situations as we are now facing.

The water crisis is only one of many problems we are facing and needs concerted action by all officials responsible for governance whether it is on a local, provincial or national level.

Examples of only a few problems – power supply, growing widespread anarchy in all walks of life where people demand everything instead of working for what they need or simply take with or without weapons, the proper combat against crime in all its forms, etc.

True prosperity in a country is only possible where all citizens are employed in productive work and to the best of their abilities.

We should not aim for the mediocre but for excellence in all that we do.

In that way we may come to be a recognised country in Africa and the rest of the world.