Municipality’s inaction leading to neglect

SINCE the beginning of the new year, not a day goes by without us being informed of the underhand and sometimes dubious operations of the ruling party.

For how much longer can the poor and uneducated masses accept parcels of ANC T-shirts and food as an inducement to vote, without realising that the money raised from taxes is there for the benefit of the upper echelon of the ruling party.

There have been rumblings for a long time over the awarding of the Soccer World Cup to this country and the influence of Sepp Blatter, Jack Warner and our local mayor, Danny Jordaan, on this issue.

Since the firing of the finance minister by the president, the rand has had a rocky ride and the country has lost millions of rand.

Over the last few days, once again the integrity of the president has been questioned.

The Guptas used the air force base to fly friends into the country for a wedding and got away with it.

After a backbencher is offered the job and the market reacted, sanity prevailed and a trusted former minister is installed. This it seems is not to the liking of the so-called inner circle close to Zuma.

Now we have the Hawks playing games while the country goes into freefall. Is it not time for sanity in the governing party to prevail, and put Zuma out to graze at Nkandla.

It is time for big business to say no further, and put capable persons in charge of ministries and run the country on an economical basis.

RA Hill, Greenacres IN THE light of the recent accident on the M4 freeway that cost the life of an innocent student, I would like to point out that coming down Russell Road onto the freeway, where the road splits into different directions, there is evidence of a previous accident some years ago that has left the road warning signs damaged and never repaired.

The concrete structure of the freeway was also damaged in this accident and left in utter neglect by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM).

It is sad that we, the ratepayers, must point out to the officials how poorly they run our city.

The roads are covered in cans, plastic and filth and are not regularly swept.

It is evident that accident damaged roadside railings are left for the “gods” to repair, and so are the lamp posts that have been damaged by motorists.

There are many lamp post “stumps” evident throughout the city and there is no repair.

We shall not mention the neglect in some prominent areas, where a sewer smell sickens residents on a daily basis.

There is no investigation to determine an obvious leak – leaking most likely into a storm water drain that empties into the harbour, where people regularly fish.

Officials drawing high monthly salaries and bonuses are responsible for this neglect.

Stanley Lemmer,

Port Elizabeth