Editor – It is with big concern that I write to you today after reading the Vryheid Herald of 21/10/2021. On the front page is the article of the ‘New royalty in town’…. A shopping mall to the value of R600,000,000, with promises of 3500 jobs. Why would we in Vryheid need a shopping mall? Why would our municipality spend all this money on this so-called mall? We do not have water most of the time and our electricity is also not up to scratch. Our roads look bad and some of the robots are not functional for weeks. About our dumpsite there is nothing to say, because there is no control.
The only project in the last five years that came off the ground is the ‘Paddadam’ project, only because it was driven by the community and the business sector in Vryheid. What will happen to the businesses in Church Street when the mall opens? Will the ‘Edgars’ ext. move to the mall and what will happen to the open spaces in the ‘main’ road? It is as if our municipality is out to please people by building a mall for the people outside of Vryheid and forgetting that we pay their salaries every month. Without the taxpayer in Vryheid, there will be no money to support our town.
Yes, more people’s feet coming to Vryheid is a bonus, but if they don’t come into town, how will it benefit the other businesses that will be staying behind in the centre of town? I think it’s time the people and businesses in Vryheid should say: NO MORE!!! We are going to take back our town and uplift it to where Vryheid should be.
Our municipality should realise that people are moving away because of the water, electricity and other problems, and only a few people move into town. Wake up, Mr Municipal Manager!!! We need each other to get this nice town of ours back to the clean, working town it should be.
John Kitching
The above letter was forwarded to the municipality for a response, but at the time of going to print, no response had been received.
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