Could Mr Catalino shed some light?
Never underestimate voters
WITH the local government elections done and dusted, the real work starts now for elected councillors.
This election proved emphatically that voters are not placing their cross on the ballot paper because of allegiances to any specific party but because they want to see tangible change in their communities.
Voters have matured and are interested in service delivery that creates vibrant metros with regard to the creation of employment, housing, electricity, water, sanitation and, among other things, tarred roads.
They signalled a clear intention that corruption in any form will not be tolerated. Corruption is a cancer that sucks the lifeblood out of a nation and, if left unchecked, will suffocate this nation beyond the point of no return.
Some voters with their fingers on the pulse know this, hence the major shift in the results of key metros held by the ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay, Tshwane, Joburg and Ekurhuleni.
The electorate is becoming more sophisticated and value their vote. Certain discerning issues have emerged:
• Liberation rhetoric cannot win elections.
• The accessibility and accountability of public representatives is a priority.
• The notion that opposition parties carry the stigma of apartheid and white privilege is losing currency.
• Saying the DA is the modern National Party will not affect its rise.
• Saying the EFF is counter-revolutionary is losing credibility as an argument.
• Gwede Mantashe’s statement that blacks do not value their vote holds no water, they do. They can boycott the elections as a form of protest.
The DA’s good showing in Gauteng could be based on the ANC’s traditional voters staying away from the polls.
• Politicians and their organisations need to be in sync with their voters, paying attention to their views between elections.
• Leadership issues such as the controversy surrounding Nkandla, e-tolls, politicians paying more attention to the party than the electorate and, among others, the demonisation of the public protector, have impacted negatively on political attitudes towards the ruling party.
The sustainability of a political party is determined by its close interaction with its voters.
As voters become aware of what is required of their elected councillors in terms of accountability and accessibility, they also reflect on the power of their vote.
In the same vein, political parties, irrespective of how much power they possess, cannot be arrogant and ignore the electorate. Working against well informed voters in an educated political landscape will result in a loss of power. The message has been amplified in all corners of SA... never underestimate the power of the electorate. VIJAY SURUJPAL
Phoenix I RESPOND to your front page article published last week, quoting Carlos Catalino, CEO of Hoy Park Management (Pty) Ltd. Here Catalino threatens the withdrawal of “international investors” and others, from the so-called “academy” to be built on the Kings Park precinct.
Catalino, beneficiary of an as yet unexplained 30 year lease on the land, gifted by the eThekwini City Council, spins quite a yarn and is now playing the role of victim.
He says the “investors are growing restless at the delays” and are “tired of all the bureaucracy.” Be interesting to know who these investors are, if they exist at all.
Delay? Fact is, if the city council had been transparent, followed procedures and adhered to the law, there would be no delay. Instead, they have consciously subverted applicable law and the constitution. They have misrepresented matters. The question is, why?
The parties involved have consistently refused to answer legitimate questions or provide information or documentation since the first challenge was raised in November 2014. This includes the Liverpool Football Club and the SA Football Association (SAFA). Why?
I think the right thing for Catlino to do would be to put his real or imaginary “investors” in the picture and inform them of the likelihood that the council’s decisions in this matter will be declared null and void.
According to council minutes, the decision to award a lease to Hoy Park Management to build the Liverpool Football Club Academy was based on a “tripartite agreement between eThekwini Municipality, the province of KwaZulu-Natal and the Liverpool Football Club.”
A few months later, the seemingly all-powerful Catalino arbitrarily announced that Liverpool had pulled out and would relocate elsewhere in Durban, while Safa would now build the academy at Kings Park. By what authority one wonders?
We have subsequently witnessed the spectacle of the so-called Liverpool Academy moving around Durban like a travelling circus. This academy has now disappeared.
Most intriguing is a recent business brokers advert, published on the internet. One assumes the municipality has sanctioned this.The lengthy description is headed: “49 percent of a 5-a-Side Soccer Stadium: Kings Park, Durban.” Among other things, it states that “The sellers (Pty) Ltd company has acquired a 30 year lease on a site near Kings Park Rugby Stadium.” A “partner” is sought who will “put up R14 million” in return for dividends of varying amounts and attractive profits. “A thousand seat elevated grand stand, substantial surrounding land” and a range of mouthwatering attractions are also offered.
The description of the site sounds like the current cycling velodrome, which is the same site where the football academy is supposed to be built, according to the plan originally published by the municipality. Perhaps Mr Catalino can shed some light on this?
There are of course no guarantees, but, given the degree to which the applicable laws and the constitution have been subverted, and the degree of injustice visited upon the affected citizens of Durban, there is no doubt that the courts will see it to it that justice is done.
JEFF VAN BELKUM Warner Beach