Dissatisfaction with the lack of co-operation by the Kouga Municipality

It is with great disappointment that FEKRRA has once again come to the conclusion that the Kouga Municipality under your leadership has no intention whatsoever of addressing the issues highlighted in our letter dated 23 October 2009. Despite a workshop that was very well facilitated by Mr. Christo Nel, the mutually agreed upon steps set out to avoid a dispute are not being adhered to by you and your team. Both parties were warned at the time that it was a difficult path that we were embarking on, but we have unfortunately come to the realization that you and the Municipality have reneged at the very first step.

Of the nine issues raised in our initial letter highlighting our grievances, only two have been partially addressed. The following are examples of precisely what FEKRRA is alluding to (dealt with as per the original list):

• A failure by officials and ruling party councillors to be available, within reason, to their constituents, various representative bodies as well as individual clients. Critical e-mails and other correspondence are in most instances not acknowledged or even responded to, and prearranged (and confirmed) meetings are frequently cancelled just prior to the scheduled time, regardless of the inconvenience caused to other attendees, often traveling from afar. Visualize if you would the cancellation of the second scheduled meeting with FEKRRA despite the date of this meeting having been set for 29 April 2010 (along with the fact that even the first meeting was poorly attended by Municipal officials for a host of reasons). No effort has been made to schedule a follow up meeting despite an e-mail from FEKRRA, and if the Municipality had been transparent and serious in its intention to address issues of concern to ratepayers and residents, then surely these meetings would be given the profile and priority that they were promised? Nothing has come of the much discussed customer care helpline that was promised during our discussions and during our first follow up meeting. The Kouga Municipality undertook to implement a system whereby complaints by residents or organizations would be logged, be given a reference number and responded to within five working days.

• The ongoing deterioration being experienced in the delivery of essential services, let alone steps to improve them to acceptable levels. The “green drop” report issued by the Department of Water Affairs is a prime example of this. In this report it is clear that the capacities of our sewerage works are not being increased and as such, Kouga does not have the infrastructure to handle the ever-increasing amount of raw sewerage emanating from new developments (including the new RDP houses being erected). In this regard, mention should also be made of bad publicity resulting from the not-infrequent occurrences of raw sewerage spilling onto the pristine beach in Jeffreys Bay. Another fact also well documented in the report is the testing of Jeffreys Bay’s wastewater – found not to comply with e-standards set in seven of the nine categories, a clear and dangerous health hazard to the population of Jeffreys Bay. The towns of Hankey, Humansdorp and St Francis Bay hardy fare any better. It is also evident in the draft budget that insufficient funds are being allocated to reducing the vast backlog in augmentation needs as well as for repairs to and maintenance of the constantly deteriorating infrastructure. Long-term loans for the procurement of vehicles and equipment extending way beyond the life expectancy of the new accoutrement, is not considered expedient and only serves to exacerbate an already serious situation.

• The lack of any meaningful management processes being applied to ensure staff productivity and discipline. In this regard, too, the draft budget reflects a further deterioration in what is already an area of great concern. The answer definitely does not lie in adding staff and increasing overtime allocations, steps that merely encourage poor supervision as well as poor productivity. The fact that some 40% of the draft budget has been earmarked for wages and salaries is contrary to the guidelines issued by Central Government on the one hand, and an indictment of your Council’s inability to utilize its manpower resources effectively on the other. FEKRRA is convinced that Council is unwilling to accept the fact that the general standard of supervision is poor, and that it is quite content to turn a blind eye on the unscrupulous abuse of manpower that ratepayers have to behold everywhere on a daily basis.

• The veil of secrecy – in a supposedly transparent enterprise – that hangs over many decisions made by both Council and its officials. The handling of the latest disciplinary hearings, the late involvement of FEKRRA in the budgeting process (one of our announced “hot buttons”), the late notification of the budget discussions in St Francis Bay (and elsewhere) as well as the last-minute choice of and change in venue further serve to underline the belief held by the rate paying community that the Kouga Municipality pays lip service to good governance in all of its dealings.

• The apparent presence of political agendas in every aspect of day-to-day management clearly has a negative affect on the ability of the Municipality to perform properly and effectively. In this regard reference must be made of the dismissal of Lungile Mxube and the appointment of staff that have political connections, regardless of whether or not they are capable of performing their duties adequately and efficiently. Here sight must also not be lost of badly considered decisions made by officials that result in ever-mounting legal costs that eventually have to be borne by the ratepayers – without the responsible official(s) ever being disciplined.

• The wanton wastage of financial resources that occurs with the blind implementation of each and every new recommendation made by SALGA regarding remuneration in every form to officials and councilors alike, irrespective of local impact or relevance. Here, too, reference is made to the budget where in these times of economic hardships all round, funds are earmarked for wasteful items such as international relations, congresses, employee sports days, and so forth. These “nice to have” budgetary items are funded from ratepayers’ rates and taxes that are constantly being increased. Is it therefore not too much to ask of Council to take a good look at the bigger picture and, as virtually every household has to do, consider whether expenditure on any given item is really necessary?

• The ongoing failure of the Finance Directorate to comply with normal and acceptable accounting practices, controls and standards. As far as this is concerned, FEKRRA has repeatedly expressed its deep concern and reservations. In this regard, issues such as Council’s lack of transparency in dealing with Auditor General reports, the prepaid meter debacle involving Eskom and others, the totally unprofessional and unsatisfactory handling of the entire valuations exercise as well as problematic tender process and scams come to mind. There are, in effect, too many to mention – and here, too, it is all for the account of the ratepayers.

• The continued refusal by the municipal organism to accept qualified assistance in any constructive capacity. This has once again been demonstrated by the fact that FEKRRA has till now not been approached to assist with the problematic valuations – despite the fact that at the last meeting with you, Mr Mayor, we were assured that some of our members would be asked to serve on a panel to would address this vexing matter. People with wide-ranging experience and knowledge reside everywhere in the Kouga region, and on numerous occasions many of these folk have offered to assist the Municipality with advice and help to in their respective fields to the benefit of all. One of these fields is the budgeting process, but as has been mentioned before, FEKRRA’s approaches have been ignored, with detrimental results as it has now turned out. Another is our offer to assist with the evaluation of the hydrological data to address drainage problems in the region – without success. Little, if anything, has also resulted from the task teams that stemmed from the Humansdorp exercise.

• The reprehensible recruitment and appointment processes that are followed throughout the Municipality. Some mention has already been made in this regard, but the debacles surrounding Directors Dennis and Mxube are worth repeating. Both these appointments were done despite reservations expressed by factions within the governing party and/or by members of opposition parties. The long dragged-out process has certainly cast a poor reflection on those responsible within Council and the officialdom.

This letter serves to place on record FEKRRA’s unhappiness with and disappointment in the lack of progress following the Humansdorp workshop. The initial feeling of euphoria created amongst delegates and also the community at large has largely dissipated – and in our opinion this is largely due to the unwillingness of the Kouga Municipality’s team under your leadership to continue coming to the party.

The issues listed above have long been bones of contention as far as the ratepayer community is concerned, and FEKRRA fails to understand why, yet again, no effort has been forthcoming to forget our differences, and in a feeling of trust, work together to achieve what you so freely proclaim, namely “Prosperity through vision”, and may we add, “for all its peoples”.

History has it that a Roman emperor kept on fiddling whilst his city was burning. In Kouga’s case this can be equated to the Municipality pursuing its reckless ways whilst to quote a phrase frequently heard during the recent virtually worthless budget sessions, “the truth of the matter is” that Kouga is in crisis with sewerage spills and poor water quality at the order of the day – to name but a few. There is a growing wave of discontent out there and instead of continuing to look outwards to the community for help – in the form of increased monthly municipal bills – you would be well advised to quickly start looking inwards to find ways of becoming more effective keepers of the public purse. A positive step in this regard would surely be to amend your autocratic ways and adopt a more transparent, participative style of management, and in this regard, FEKRRA is willing to provide support once we have been convinced that the Municipality is serious at putting its proverbial money where its mouth is.

It is indeed a sad reflection on the effort and progress made in Humansdorp that the aforementioned feeling of trust has been dented. FEKRRA needs to know as a matter of urgency what you and your team envisage to get the process back on track. Should FEKRRA not have a satisfactory proposal from the Kouga Municipality by close of work on the 8th of June 2010, we will be forced to consult with our membership across Kouga. We would then recommend various actions aimed at “encouraging” the municipality to provide better service delivery and addressing the long outstanding grievances of Kouga residents.