Gutted Durban lost out on Games
We have a right to clean air
TO BE honest, although I, like many others, was initially against Durban hosting the Commonwealth Games, I feel gutted that we lost out on the opportunity of a lifetime to host a major sporting spectacle.
I was in two minds. I love my city and would have been proud if the Games were held in Durban.
As sporting personalities, city treasurer Krish Kumar and the media pointed out, it was a great opportunity to draw tourists, create jobs, generate revenue and showcase our sunny shores to the world. Business, especially the hospitality industry, would have benefited.
The construction industry and crooked government officials also lost a golden opportunity to line their pockets.
But what about the masses? Would they have benefited from this elite Games staged at a massive cost? What about the morality of it all? Those are the questions many people have asked.
If we cannot answer these questions honestly, how can we criticise government for its extravagance and wastage? Then again, it could be argued that if billions in public funds are siphoned off through corruption and fraud, why can’t we spend money on the Games?
But our views would have made no difference. The Games were lost because of the poor state of the economy, according to Sport Minister Fikile Mbalula.
It’s a pity, though, that R118 million was wasted on the bid process. But there could be a twist in the tale.
Was the bid perhaps aborted because the ANC government ultimately decided it was averse to hosting an event stigmatised by colonial baggage? T MARKANDAN
Silverglen I REFER to V Bradley’s letter on the Enviroserv issue (Sunday Tribune, March 5).
I was amazed to read Bradley’s stance on this sensitive issue. He believes there has been “far too much exaggeration and emotion over this issue”.
On the contrary. In the modern day and age of improved technology, residents are fully entitled to live in an environment free of foul-smelling air. When this right to clean air is breached, naturally there will be emotions shown, even exaggeration.
When people live with a foul odour often permeating their living rooms and bedrooms, it is also natural that health issues become a concern (now and in the future).
Whether the threat to the Durban July and the Comrades Marathon is a reality or not, it is immaterial to the main issue, which is simply “we want clean air” as demanded by thousands of residents in a recent protest march.
It is up to the authorities to protect this right. The right cannot be denied by protecting Enviroserv or any other business.
All Enviroserv’s efforts at their Shongweni operation have, to date, shown no improvement in either the intensity or frequency of the odour problem. As long as this persists, let us intensify our resolve.
I can assure Bradley that my wife and I do not, out of choice, sit on many hot nights with all our doors and windows closed. TONY VENTON
Hillcrest