Let’s expose useless councillors and MPLs

THERE are more and more committed members of the community, who have a passion to improve the lives of those around them.

They are opting to leave political parties so they can serve the people better.

Political parties are meant to be at the forefront of fighting for communities but sadly it’s no longer the case.

These parties have become vehicles that opportunistic individuals use to secure well-paying jobs as councillors, MPLs, and MPs.

Once elected, they become so aloof from the voters and their needs that they remain silent when communities cry out for help.

I know I am generalising but most public representatives I know fall in this category.

Today, leadership contestation and internal conferences dominate political parties’ agendas.

It’s a damn shame that communities have replaced paid public representatives as the true voice of the people.

I say “damn shame” because the public representatives are paid to represent and voice the needs of the communities and they have failed to do this. If they were employed as a worker, they would have been fired a long time ago.

Activists are volunteers.

I still say that it’s not too late to hold public representatives to account. We need to name and shame those councillors, MPLs, and MPs who fail to do their jobs.

Let’s begin by using the media, which is the same medium politicians are using to promote themselves, to expose those who don’t do their jobs.

This week I tried to call a councillor and she did not answer. I’ve tried many times before and she never answers her phone.

She occupies a senior position in the municipality and her party.

She responded by saying she was “busy” and asked “is the call urgent?”. I respond “yes” and an hour later still no response from her.

This one is another social media activist because she is active on WhatsApp and Facebook but is not seen in the community.

The first step in solving our community problems is to understand the role of public representatives. They are paid to represent and serve us. They must be available at all times to, at least, answer a call. If they fail to do this, they are not fit to hold this position.

Secondly, nothing stops us from exposing them. We must know where they stay and we must march to their homes. It can’t be that they get elected by us and ignore us until the next election. They treat us with contempt and as fools.

Thirdly, we must realise this: councillors, MPLs, and MPs are in the best position to solve our community problems. But today they are, in most cases, the source of the problems. Let’s name and shame them and force them to resign.

We have only ourselves to blame if our communities are besieged by problems and our elected representatives are failing to address these.

VISVIN REDDY

Durban