Newcastle Ratepayers’ Association a force to be reckoned with
Over the past twelve months 117 letters were addressed to the municipality, which ranged from outstanding debt, the levying of wrong electricity tariffs, irregular expenditure and the unnecessary appointment of consultants, all of which had or will have, a financial impact on the community of Newcastle.
The Newcastle Ratepayers’ Association held its AGM on August 11, where committee members took stock of the year past and looked to the future.
Chairman, Chris le Roux, submitted a summary of the activities of the past year, highlighting the most important issues the association faced.
– Over the past twelve months 117 letters were addressed to the municipality, which ranged from outstanding debt, the levying of wrong electricity tariffs, irregular expenditure and the unnecessary appointment of consultants, all of which had or will have, a financial impact on the community of Newcastle.
– According to Mr le Roux’s report, responses to letters showed a slight improvement. However in many cases the information requested was not forthcoming. Some replies were vague with scanty comments.
– The association submitted comments on the Auditor General’s report, the Annual Budget, the Annual Report, the Integrated Development Programme and other draft policies.
– A total of 19 letters were addressed to Government and provincial departments in relation to many issues, like electricity tariffs, the financing of the new municipal offices, housing projects and other matters they believed were not compliant with legislation.
“Our members also attended bid openings,” said Mr le Roux. “This was mainly to stay informed, but also to be able to relate information gathered with the progress of specific projects.”
“Having been registered as a stakeholder and role player, representatives of the committee attended meetings of the Ngagane Catchment Forum, the Traffic and Transportation Study group, the Environmental Management Forum, the Spatial Development Plan Study Group, the AGM of uTukhela Water and the Integrated Development Programme Forum where, I believe, our representatives made valuable contributions for the benefit of the town and it’s people,” continued Mr le Roux.
The report also stated that over the period in review there was a change in attitude from officials towards the association.
“It is gratifying to report on meaningful discussions we had with the Strategic Executive Director of Electrical Services, the Operations Manager and the Acting Chief Financial Officer,” he said. “Furthermore, complaints that were referred to specific members of staff were also, in the majority of cases promptly attended to.”
The report concluded with the following words from Mr Le Roux:
‘Looking back I believe we have achieved a lot to be proud of. Behind the scenes we are seen as an organisation to be reckoned with, hopefully no longer as an enemy but a role player who can be employed as a role player to give effect to the principles described in the Systems Act.
Lastly, it is the wish of the committee and myself that the association will grow from strength to strength. In this regard, I wish to record my appreciation towards each member of the committee for their support and the manner in which they have dedicated themselves towards the many tasks they have undertaken in the interests of the association, its members, and that of the community.
In conclusion I wish to thank Bernice Clark for allowing us the use of the facilities at Anchor Nursery for our weekly meetings and La Gratitude for making their Training Centre available to us for our monthly meetings.’
The meeting was concluded with the unanimous re-election of the existing committee for the 2014/2015 year. They are: Chris le Roux (chairman), Henk Botha (vice chairman), Phil Hair (secretary), Bernice Clark (treasurer), Peter Hair (additional member). Co-opted Members – Marie Schoeman and Marina Boucher.
