What is going on?
I took notice of the report about name changes in the Ridge Times of 9 May, “Council approves name changes”.
I think the Govan Mbeki Municipality is frivolous, spiteful or rather clueless and I think they need a wake-up call.
Let me qualify my allegation.
Evander was named after the wife of the first chairman of the gold mines in the area, Ms Evelyn Anderson.
The streets were named after university cities of the world, Yale, Sorbonne, London, Stanford, and so on.
This was unique in South Africa and I think in the world.
This gave a distinct character to the town and had no political connotation.
Council states that community consultation meetings regarding the name changes were held.
Yes, at obscure locations and times, where the council knew that people living in Evander will not or can not attend.
A political ploy if you ask me.
A street named Pittsburg Road is changed to Nepad Street, Pietersburg Road to Unity in Diversity Street.
This is absurd, what kind of a name is that for a street?
What is the cost involved in these changes, the municipality does not even have money for maintenance and had to cut the maintenance budget because of a lack of funds.
These very same streets are so full of potholes, strewn rubbish and in general disrepair, but the names will be changed.
This is ridiculous to say the least.
Let me tell readers another thing and I can prove it.
Were it not for the financial assistance of Sasol and the ratepayers of Evander, Secunda, Kinross, Bethal and Leslie the real ratepayers, who that pay their full municipal accounts monthly, where would the municipality be today?
Even with these payments they are struggling to make ends meet, because other towns in the area get the free ride.
We pay through our necks for bad service and frivolous actions by the municipality.
I think the time has come for the real ratepayers of the town to take up the case, say their say and force the municipality to respect them.
Why does the municipality not change the name of Secunda?
I will tell you why, Sasol will stop their funding.
The executive mayor in her annual “promise speech” said the nicest things about service delivery, when I read it I thought that something will begin to happen now.
To my dismay, I only saw a few white lines being repainted in Evander before the general elections.
Nothing further happens, the streets are impossible to drive on, streetlights are not working, the town is filthy and the lapa that burned down eight years ago has not been rebuilt.
The area around the dams is dangerously dirty and overgrown and water mains are bursting all over town.
It is a disgrace how our hard earned money is wasted on changing of names.
It is time that real ratepayers of Evander come together and stop this nonsense.
Concerned ratepayer, Evander.
