Grocott's Mail
  • NEWS
    • Courts & Crime
    • Features
    • Politics
    • People
    • Health & Well-being
  • SPORT
    • News
    • Results
    • Sports Diary
    • Club Contacts
    • Columns
    • Sport Galleries
    • Sport Videos
  • OPINION
    • Election Connection
    • Makana Voices
    • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
    • Newtown… Old Eyes
    • Incisive View
    • Your Say
  • ARTSLIFE
    • Cue
    • Makana Sharp!
    • Visual Art
    • Literature
    • Food & Fun
    • Festivals
    • Community Arts
    • Going Places
  • OUR TOWN
    • What’s on
    • Spiritual
    • Emergency & Well-being
    • Safety
    • Civic
    • Municipality
    • Weather
    • Properties
      • Grahamstown Properties
    • Your Town, Our Town
  • OUTSIDE
    • Enviro News
    • Gardening
    • Farming
    • Science
    • Conservation
    • Motoring
    • Pets/Animals
  • ECONOMIX
    • Business News
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Personal Finance
  • EDUCATION
    • Education NEWS
    • Education OUR TOWN
    • Education INFO
  • Covid-19
  • EDITORIAL
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • GM Direct publishing break
  • “Makhanda is in shambles,” says Ward Four resident
  • Ward Two residents buy own floodlights to combat cable theft
  • A town without a playground: where do the children play?
  • Women, Politics, Power, Patriachy: A feminist lens
  • Makhanda’s Links Royal House Gaokx’aob (Chief) has died
  • What’s On – 30 March – 6 April
  • Unapologetically queer and Black consciousness approach to live performance
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Grocott's Mail
  • NEWS
    • Courts & Crime
    • Features
    • Politics
    • People
    • Health & Well-being
  • SPORT
    • News
    • Results
    • Sports Diary
    • Club Contacts
    • Columns
    • Sport Galleries
    • Sport Videos
  • OPINION
    • Election Connection
    • Makana Voices
    • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
    • Newtown… Old Eyes
    • Incisive View
    • Your Say
  • ARTSLIFE
    • Cue
    • Makana Sharp!
    • Visual Art
    • Literature
    • Food & Fun
    • Festivals
    • Community Arts
    • Going Places
  • OUR TOWN
    • What’s on
    • Spiritual
    • Emergency & Well-being
    • Safety
    • Civic
    • Municipality
    • Weather
    • Properties
      • Grahamstown Properties
    • Your Town, Our Town
  • OUTSIDE
    • Enviro News
    • Gardening
    • Farming
    • Science
    • Conservation
    • Motoring
    • Pets/Animals
  • ECONOMIX
    • Business News
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Personal Finance
  • EDUCATION
    • Education NEWS
    • Education OUR TOWN
    • Education INFO
  • Covid-19
  • EDITORIAL
Grocott's Mail
You are at:Home»Uncategorized»Don’t cry for us, dear Makana
Uncategorized

Don’t cry for us, dear Makana

Grocott's MailBy Grocott's MailSeptember 18, 2014No Comments4 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

“Bad news sells newspapers” – a truism embraced with almost pornographic enthusiasm by one of our nearby city dailies, seems to be infecting our beloved city and local municipality of Grahamstown and Makana.

“Bad news sells newspapers” – a truism embraced with almost pornographic enthusiasm by one of our nearby city dailies, seems to be infecting our beloved city and local municipality of Grahamstown and Makana.

“A hot shower in the morning is a basic human right,” a dear friend from Somerset Heights assures me – oblivious for a brief grubby moment to the absence of reticulated water, let alone boilers, for many residents in Makana for much, if not all, of the time.

“The roads are a disgrace, and the endless water leaks making it all worse,” says another critic whose name is Legion, but whose hefty 4×4 has yet to traverse the distant parts of the Eastern suburbs, let alone the road to Riebeeck East.

“What the hell are they doing with all our rates money?” demands a third.

“Why can't they even keep accounts?”

All true, but let us for a moment look on the bright side. We are in one of the best places in South Africa to get an education. The private schools are outstanding; the “model C” schools, excellent; the support available to the other secondary schools by Rhodes' Education Faculty and University volunteers, generous, and the GADRA Matric School a little gem.

The growth of Rhodes University over the past couple of decades has been spectacular, bringing in a wealth of resources, much of which is recycled as wages, salaries, school fees and demands for goods and services in the municipal area.

We have the National Arts Festival which provides opportunities for profitable creativity and good publicity which are the blatant envy of cities many times our size.

There are several, educational public lectures almost every week throughout much of the year, and we are the poetry capital of the country.

The “Homestay” business, which received an early boost from [former Eastern Cape premier]Nosimo Balindlela, is but one spin-off for those with initiative and a willingness to work.

The Cathedral choir school, which regularly leads worship in the Cathedral, together with the Anglican Theological College, add further social and spiritual benefits to the whole community.

Rumour even has it that the ruins in New Street will soon vanish into history.

There are many grumblers, from Hill 60 to Extension 10 and beyond – and most complaints are valid.

Why should we pay our municipal accounts when we get no water and risk our tyres, or ankles, on our wretched streets?

Fair enough – but all registered voters have an opportunity to make a difference within the next year or so.

Municipal elections will be held and a new Council elected. Makana will have plenty of choice, if the more vociferous citizens stand up to be counted.

No doubt the ANC will continue to be the Big Beast in the municipal jungle – but as the ruling party over the past 20 years, its councillors and appointees will have to accept responsibility for the current problems and only the voters can make them pay the price.

The DA, as the only other party represented on Council, has plenty of expertise, if not experience of power, in its ranks. Jock McConnachie has much experience in campaigning, if not in office, but as a mature advocate, backed by independents, could make a major contribution.

Ayanda Kota, who commands great respect in the community, could likewise make a valuable contribution as an independent. We could even have Malema's merry minstrels to liven up local politics.

It is within living memory, just, that Makana was within a single council vote of having a DA mayor (if only for a day!).

With a much broader based coalition of the willing, Makana could have a representative and vulnerable Council and build once more on the wonderful resources that our great city possesses.

* Michael Whisson is a former DA Chief Whip in th Makana Council who missed becoming Mayor by one vote.

Previous ArticleMunicipal casual workers demand answers
Next Article Hope for schools with vacant teachers’ posts
Grocott's Mail

Comments are closed.

Tweets by Grocotts
Newsletter



Listen

The Rhodes University Community Engagement Division has launched Engagement in Action, a new podcast which aims to bring to life some of the many ways in which the University interacts with communities around it. Check it out below.

Humans of Makhanda

Humans of Makhanda

Weather    |     About     |     Advertise     |     Subscribe     |     Contact     |     Support Grocott’s Mail

© 2023 Maintained by School of Journalism & Media Studies.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.