Noise, noise, noises
Festival noise, Bafana noise, but no noise as uniting in Grahamstown as the noises about the proposed removal of the seat of our High Court.
A huge campaign has been launched by the legal fraternity, the High Court Action Committee and many others.
Noise, noise, noises
Festival noise, Bafana noise, but no noise as uniting in Grahamstown as the noises about the proposed removal of the seat of our High Court.
A huge campaign has been launched by the legal fraternity, the High Court Action Committee and many others.
The Grahamstown Residents’ Association’s (GRA) email to the Minister made the point that one cap does not fit all (in more diplomatic language).
If the Eastern Cape differs from other provinces in that the seat of its High Court is 90 minutes away from the capital city, so what? We are a country of diversity of which we are proud.
Now we can only hope that sensible amendment to the Bill will be made. Makana Municipality was disappointingly late in doing anything about this.
A letter from Archbishop Makgoba dated 5 May and the feeling of the Cacadu Mayors’ forum on 24 May that Makana should take a position on this matter led to a special council meeting as late as 17 June.
The recommendation was that the matter be considered and the Mayor and Municipal Manager be mandated to make representation to the Minister in person.
Discussion was curtailed after two short proposals, one sensible the other impracticable, fell on deaf ears and so the Mayor and Manager will make representation to the Minister with no specific mandate from the Council. The mind boggles.
Bhisho, oh Bhisho…
At long last after interminable badgering and begging by the good people of the Makana Housing Department, Bisho has made a start on the Transit Camp RDP Housing scheme of 294 houses.
Standard business procedure is that one calls for tenders and signs a contract detailing terms, conditions, payment dates and penalty clauses with one company.
If anything goes wrong, you nail that company. But we gather Bisho has 14 contractors and seems to have more than one project manager!
Workers were striking because they had not been paid for months and even held one project manager hostage till they were paid.
Bhisho spokesperson Lwandile Sicwetsha said, “We have paid the contractors last week because we do not want the project to delay.” Bit of a botch up.
Now we read that no fewer than eight senior members of the Bhisho Education Department have been suspended. Gosh! How many chiefs are left?
Pity the children whose parents do not earn enough to send them to semi-independent or independent schools, and that is the vast majority of the population.
No wonder these schools struggle with continuous interference from a Department like that. This is a disgrace.
The municipal turn-around strategy was announced by the government and handed to the provinces. Bhisho sent a questionnaire to Makana most of which was irrelevant and/or incomprehensible.
The council officials replied to the best of their ability and received a document on their turn-around strategy which was as irrelevant and incomprehensible as the questionnaire.
Waste paper bin please. Soon the Council on the advice of Bhisho will be asked to have a naming policy and a Naming Committee.
There are many streets in Grahamstown East which do not have names and this is a serious problem when an ambulance must be called. The driver gets lost.
Urgent attention is needed here. But the Naming Committee will also be asked to revisit the question of the name ofthe city. Another waste of time and money. Kate’s catastrophe. Drop it!
