The Witness

The Witness: "Strikers won’t back down"
MSUNDUZI municipal workers in the water, electricity, traffic and waste departments have vowed to continue their strike over the payment of overtime and other concerns.

So if you have put your rubbish out and are hoping it will be taken away today, chances are it won’t be.

Acting municipal manager Roy Bridgmohan yesterday told The Witness that the municipality’s management committee will meet Mayor Zanele Hlatshwayo this morning in an attempt to plot the way forward.

“But we will not go back on our decision [not to pay the overtime].”

When asked about contingency plans for the collection of rubbish, Bridgmohan referred The Witness to the deputy municipal manager for community services, Zwe Hulane, who had already êthe reporter to Bridgmohan for comment.

Bridgmohan complained that his rubbish has also not been collected. He said he had been out of town for the weekend and was driving and could not say any more to The Witness.

An employee who has served the municipality for more than 20 years said the strikers won’t back down until their concerns are attended to. The employee, who asked not to be named, said it is disappointing that the Local Government Department has not dealt with the municipality long after a memorandum detailing the “burning issues” of financial mismanagement and unfair labour practices by municipal officials was sent to the department in March last year.

“They have been made aware of the crisis last year. All we want is for them to remove the mayor and the municipal manager because they are failing not only the employees, but also the ratepayers,” said the employee.

“During the old order you never heard of this municipality running out of money, but in a democracy it happens.”

On Thursday, the police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse protesting workers outside the city hall.

The employee said the strike is not only about overtime payment, but also about the misappropriation of municipal funds and the lack of action against the culprits.

“We want the ruling party to tell us what is being done to sort this mess out. We can’t go on like this while knowing what and where the problem is,” he said.

Local Government MEC Nomsa Dube said she was not aware of Thursday’s protest. “We are aware of the concerns raised by the municipal workers and we are working on addressing them. We will explain to them the steps taken in dealing with the matter, and this will be done through their representatives,” said Dube.

The secretary of the Msunduzi Shop Stewards’ Council, Themba Lyons, said they have given the municipality 48 hours’ notice that members of the SA Municipal Workers’ Union will be embarking on an indefinite strike.


MSUNDUZI municipal workers in the water, electricity, traffic and waste departments have vowed to continue their strike over the payment of overtime and other concerns.

So if you have put your rubbish out and are hoping it will be taken away today, chances are it won’t be.

Acting municipal manager Roy Bridgmohan yesterday told The Witness that the municipality’s management committee will meet Mayor Zanele Hlatshwayo this morning in an attempt to plot the way forward.

“But we will not go back on our decision [not to pay the overtime].”

When asked about contingency plans for the collection of rubbish, Bridgmohan referred The Witness to the deputy municipal manager for community services, Zwe Hulane, who had already êthe reporter to Bridgmohan for comment.

Bridgmohan complained that his rubbish has also not been collected. He said he had been out of town for the weekend and was driving and could not say any more to The Witness.

An employee who has served the municipality for more than 20 years said the strikers won’t back down until their concerns are attended to. The employee, who asked not to be named, said it is disappointing that the Local Government Department has not dealt with the municipality long after a memorandum detailing the “burning issues” of financial mismanagement and unfair labour practices by municipal officials was sent to the department in March last year.

“They have been made aware of the crisis last year. All we want is for them to remove the mayor and the municipal manager because they are failing not only the employees, but also the ratepayers,” said the employee.

“During the old order you never heard of this municipality running out of money, but in a democracy it happens.”

On Thursday, the police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse protesting workers outside the city hall.

The employee said the strike is not only about overtime payment, but also about the misappropriation of municipal funds and the lack of action against the culprits.

“We want the ruling party to tell us what is being done to sort this mess out. We can’t go on like this while knowing what and where the problem is,” he said.

Local Government MEC Nomsa Dube said she was not aware of Thursday’s protest. “We are aware of the concerns raised by the municipal workers and we are working on addressing them. We will explain to them the steps taken in dealing with the matter, and this will be done through their representatives,” said Dube.

The secretary of the Msunduzi Shop Stewards’ Council, Themba Lyons, said they have given the municipality 48 hours’ notice that members of the SA Municipal Workers’ Union will be embarking on an indefinite strike.

Mervyn Dirks-Something to hide?

The Witness: "Media barred from Exco after Witness expose"
YESTERDAY’s exposé about massive individual overtime claims at Msunduzi Municipality had unforseen consequences when the media was denied entry to the executive committee (Exco) meeting.

Acting Mayor Mervyn Dirks deliberately misled journalists before the sitting by telling them to wait outside as a confidential item was to be discussed before they would be called in.

However, officials walked out two hours later and proclaimed the proceedings over. When journalists asked Dirks why he had neglected to call them in after discussions on the confidential matter wrapped up, he said it was decided inside that the entire meeting would be confidential as only internal issues would be discussed.

DA councillor Bill Lambert was quick to dispute the claim.

“I asked why the press weren’t brought in. We discussed the agenda, not confidential items. It’s a clamp on the freedom of speech and I’m absolutely incensed. This is worse than the lights going off and it’s very sad for our democracy,” he said.

Dirks responded by claiming that it was an oversight on his part, but this is not the first time he has barred the media from sitting in on an Exco meeting.

Inside sources later told The Witness that no confidential matters were discussed. They said Dirks was in huff because his bodyguard’s overtime claims were exposed in yesterday’s Witness, and he retaliated by denying the media access.

Sources also said a resolution was passed that no journalist would be allowed to sit in on any future finance committee meetings.

“It’s because they are hiding corruption and don’t want to be exposed. It’s not right,” said a source.

The DA caucus leader in the KZN Legislature, John Steenhuisen, said Dirk’s actions are illegal according to sections of the Municipal Systems Act and the Constitution.

“It is entirely inappropriate for the media to be barred from meetings unless there are exceptional circumstances; the council must explain what these circumstances are,” he said.

Steenhuisen added: “Given the recent history of the Msunduzi Municipality, it would be a disaster if they closed the meetings. They have got up to enough skullduggery in open meetings. The mind boggles as to what they will get up to if they suddenly start meeting behind closed doors!”

Inkatha Freedom Party councillor Dolo Zondi was not present during yesterday’s sitting and attempts to make reach him by phone were not successful.

Massive overtime fraud

The Witness: "Overtime madness in Msunduzi Municipality"
INDIVIDUAL overtime claims at the Msunduzi Municipality have reached shocking proportions and evidence indicates that many security staffers are getting away with earning fat-cat salaries at ratepayers’ expense.

According to a list of just 36 of the municipality’s many security personnel, singular overtime claims per person for July and August range from R3 731,56 to R53 980,74. These amounts exclude basic pay.

For instance, one of deputy mayor Mervyn Dirks’s bodyguards pocketed R45 578,49 for overtime in July, while August saw him take home an overtime amount of R47 988,95. This adds up to an individual overtime total of R93 567,44 in just two months.

One of mayor Zanele Hlatshwayo’s bodyguards received R37 534,70 for overtime in July and his August overtime pay reached R46 592,88. His two-month individual overtime total amounted to R84 127,58.

But bodyguards are not the only municipal security employees who are pocketing exorbitant amounts in overtime.

The list also cites the excessive overtime payments dished out to traffic officers and security guards. For example, one earned R31 933,72 in July and R53 980,74 in August, bringing his two-month total to R85 914, 46.

Another received R34 327,86 for July and R39 983,58 in August, which amounted to R74 311,44 over the two months.

September salary slips in the possession of The Witness tell the same story. A security officer in training pocketed R39 085,20 in overtime, which is almost four times his basic monthly salary of R10 245,55. His gross earnings for the month were R52 270,55.

Even refuse collectors are coining it. One managed to pocket R15 030,40 in overtime for September, which was a major boost to his basic monthly salary of R5 328,12. He grossed a tidy R21 371,07 for that month.

Given these figures, it comes as no surprise that the municipality is failing to curb overtime spending.

Last month, The Witness reported that the municipality had already spent R25 million of the R33,5 million overtime budget barely three months into the new financial year.

Hlatshwayo said at the time: “It seems to be unregulated and it is all over the place in waste, in traffic, in security.”

At the end of the 2008/09 financial year, The Witness reported that the municipality managed to exceed its R43,4 million overtime budget by a whopping R22,5 million.

Leading the pack in terms of overtime expenditure that year was the community services business unit. It alone used up R29,5 million out of the R43,4 million overtime budget.

Asked to comment about the municipality’s poor financial discipline, Dirks — who is acting mayor in Hlatshwayo’s absence — said it is an administrative issue that the relevant managers should comment on.

Deputy municipal manager for community services Zwe Hulane referred The Witness to municipal manager Rob Haswell for comment, but Haswell failed to respond by the time of going to print. Attempts to get a response from the municipality’s chief financial officer, Roy Bridgmohan, were also unsuccessful.

According to the Labour Relations Act, it is not legal for employees to work more than 10 hours of overtime a week.

In a report by Haswell on October 8, with the title “Reduction Overtime Expenditure”, he admits that the municipality is contravening the act and are spending too much on overtime.

“From a budget of R33,5 million for the 09/10 year, we have only some R8 million left, and many employees are working for more than the maximum 10 hours of overtime per week as prescribed in the act,” wrote Haswell.

According to the Labour Relations Act, it is not legal for employees to work more than 10 hours of overtime a week.

In a report written by Rob Haswell on October 8 with the title “Reduction Overtime Expenditure”, he admits that the municipality is contravening the act and are spending too much on overtime.

“From a budget of R33, 5 million for the 09/10 year, we have only some R8 million left, and many employees are working for more than the maximum 10 hours of overtime per week as prescribed in the act,” wrote Haswell.

“I’M absolutely horrified,” said DA councillor Bill Lambert.

He told The Witness his party has raised the overtime issue constantly in Exco meetings, and Haswell was ordered to bring a report to Exco explaining how he is going to save council’s overtime money.

“If it was known that these people were exceeding the legal overtime limits, why was it not acted upon? This is a joke that’s not even funny,” he said.

IFP councillor Dolo Zondi said he is alarmed and cannot understand how general workers can earn such massive salaries.

“It has been happening for some time. Ever since I’ve been a councillor in this municipality, we’ve been cautioning against overtime,” he said.

Zondi said he had asked Exco in the past to get an assessment risk level that would probe whether bodyguards are indeed necessary.

“It’s not opposition parties that are threatening them. They need bodyguards to protect them from people in their own party.”

He said the overtime issue is proof that management was failing because they are the ones who sign off on the payments.

“THIS situation in Msunduzi is just another indication of an organisation where the management appears to have completely lost the political willpower to implement systems and controls. There are little or no up-front working systems required to be in place to measure and monitor council resolutions, service delivery, financial controls, much less complaints and responses to and from the ratepayer.

“The deputy municipal managers (DMMs) are not being held accountable by the municipal manager. The municipal manager no longer appears accountable to the mayor.

“How is one able to establish if this money was in fact paid when, generally, all correspondence to the DMM for community services, Zwe Hulane, under whose control the security, traffic, waste, parks and health units fall, is without fail never responded to, and is simply ignored by him, and those who fall under his control?

“The situation is fast reaching the stage in Msunduzi where the lunatics now appear to be running the asylum.”

The metro wars

The Witness: "The metro wars"
ALLEGED infighting among Afri­can National Congress members over Pietermaritzburg’s metro status has once again thrust into the limelight the future management of the region.....

News - South Africa: Mayor's guard faces murder charge

News - South Africa: Mayor's guard faces murder charge: "Mayor's guard faces murder charge"
One of the bodyguards of Msunduzi mayor Zanele Hlatshwayo was charged with murder when he made his first appearance in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court.

Nkosivumile Ngubelanga, 30, handed himself over to police on Tuesday, two days after the death of Sibusiso Mahlaba.

Ngubelanga is one of three suspects implicated in the shooting of Mahlaba, 26, who was wounded in the chest on Sunday and died at Edendale Hospital.

Woman on ARVs after blue-light bodyguard spits in her eye - Mail & Guardian Online: The smart news source

Woman on ARVs after blue-light bodyguard spits in her eye - Mail & Guardian Online: The smart news source: "Woman on ARVs after blue-light bodyguard spits in her eye"
A woman is receiving antiretroviral treatment (ARVs) after the Msunduzi mayor's bodyguard spat in her face during a confrontation on the N3 highway in KwaZulu-Natal, Beeld reported on Thursday.

According to the report, Camperdown police opened a case of intimidation and crimen injuria after Kathleen Drummond was allegedly harassed, forced to the side of the road and spat on twice.

The incident occurred on March 18 near the Umbumbulu off-ramp on the N3 and allegedly involved two bodyguards attached to mayor Zanele Hlatshwayo's VIP protection unit.

News - South Africa: Mayor unaware of road-rage incident

News - South Africa: Mayor unaware of road-rage incident: "Mayor unaware of road-rage incident"
Msunduzi mayor Zanele Hlatshwayo on Monday said she was not aware her bodyguard was under investigation by police for assault and pointing a firearm during a road rage incident in Pietermaritzburg last week.

'I don't know anything about the incident. It is the first time I am hearing about it,' she said.

KwaZulu-Natal Midlands police spokesman Senior Superintendent Henry Budhram confirmed police were investing allegations against Hlatshwayo's bodyguard.

'We have not charged him yet. We are busy with the investigation.'

According to the Witness newspaper report, Gareth Brown, 28, his brother, Lyndon, 26 and Gareth Landsberg, 26, alleged Hlatshwayo's bodyguard 'behaved like a mad man' during the incident.
The paper also reported that the bodyguard had allegedly placed his pistol against Lyndon’s head and shoved Gareth Brown in his chest with his rifle before slapping his face.

The incident allegedly happened last Wednesday. - Sapa

The Mayor is a disgrace for employing these thugs. Another bodyguard of hers was in an accident and it was then discovered he had no drivers licence. She was not aware of that either. Another bodyguard of hers spat in a womans face. The mayor was not aware of that either. She does not seem to be aware of much. No wonder this council is on the verge of collapse.

Need for civility

The Witness: "Need for civility"
AMONG many other things that concern me about the government, local and national, are the oft-repeated answers to pertinent questions raised by the ratepaying citizens and companies. Take your pick of them: “No reply has yet been received”; “The ... was not available”; “The... was on leave”; “The office was closed”; and plenty more saying the same thing.

The one which is totally inexcusable is the first one. Common courtesy demands an answer of some sort, even if it is only “We can’t give you an answer right now but will get back to you as soon as possible”. Civil servants should understand what that means.

K. KNOTT
Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg



Comments:

Posted by Theo Marx on 18 Aug 2009
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Take Note
Rob Haswell and Pietermaritzburg Councillors please take note, or don't you classify yourselves as civil?

Money-grabbing municipality

The Witness: "Money-grabbing municipality"
THE arrogance of the Msunduzi Municipality knows no bounds. In March, objections to the upward revised second property valuation roll were lodged with no respons­e of any sort to date.

This week, the individual rate assessments were received for payment by Augu­st 31, showing increa­ses of 56% to 72%. This on top of electricity, water and refuse increases.

Where do our councillors think these amounts will be found while the country slides deeper into recession?

While even the central government is trimming its expenses, our municipality aims to double its revenue, presumably to enable even larger salaries to be paid to non-delivering employees.

The fourth Reich is alive and well in our home town.

TONY CHARLTON
Montrose, Pietermaritzburg

Comments:

Posted by Anonymous on 19 Aug 2009
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This entire municipality ought to be fired!! Just fire the lot of them!! They are a bunch of very sick individuals who voted to increase our rates and services bills by such a huge amount. I am a single woman and my monthly bill has been increased by nearly R700 - with the price of food and other essentials what they are today, how am I to survive?! Where do they think I can find an extra R700 every month??!!

Posted by Ant on 19 Aug 2009
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Money-grabbing municipality
Lets have a strike, it seems to be the only way to get the ANC's attention.
We don't have to march and destruct everything, just stop giving them our hard earned money until we get public 'servants' to run our town and get value for it.
We can talk and talk, this is known as trying and nothing ever comes from trying or we can do.

Posted by Ahmed A. Khan on 19 Aug 2009
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This municipality knows no bounds to where the rot ends. Tony is absolutely justifed with his commnets and it is time the ratepayers sued this municipality for wasteful expenditure as well as poor performance. Most ratepayers are reeling from the current increase in rates and to date there has not been a reciprocative increase in service delivery. So where is the justification.

"Electricity tariffs anger local industry"

The Witness: "Electricity tariffs anger local industry"
INDUSTRIALISTS in Pietermaritzburg are outraged at municipal electricity tariffs and, more particularly, at the increases imposed from July 1.

According to the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business (PCB), the municipal tariffs are already much higher than those charged by Eskom, and the increases are substantially in excess of the actual increased amounts that the municipality will be paying to Eskom for its bulk purchases of electricity.

Industrialists have warned of an increase in the number of retrenchments because many firms are facing challenges of sustainability.

Zero tolerance?

The Witness: "Zero tolerance?"
ON Thursday, July 30, I phoned the traffic department wanting to speak to Kenneth Chetty, but someone just put the phone down. Thirty minutes later, I phoned again and was told he was in a meeting and would get back to me.

By the end of the day, I had received no response.

Every morning at Kenilworth Road, law-abiding motorists are severely inconvenienced by inconsiderate taxis and other motorists who don’t bother to join the queue. They just cut across, drive on the oncoming side of the road, go to the front of the queue and dart across traffic coming from Northdale.

The traffic department has, on occasion, done a sting there. Then they disappeared and it all begins again. Then there was a South African Police Services officer who stopped and I think ticketed the transgressors, but he then disappeared too. Now the taxis are back making merry.

I am making an impassioned plea to the traffic department: please assist us law-abiding motorists.

Let’s act and save lives now. This is the province of zero tolerance and 100% compliance, but this is beingseverely compromised.

KRISHNAN NAIDOO
Belfort Estate, Pietermaritzburg

"Council backs R200-mln flop"

"Council backs R200-mln flop"
CONTROVERSY surrounds the Msunduzi Municipality’s decision to go ahead with a meter reading system that costs more than R240million and which was ultimately suspended in Port Elizabeth, allegedly because it was problematic.
http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?showcontent&global[_id]=25161

R1 mln council fund ‘hijack’

06 Jul 2009
Sanelisiwe Shamase
HIGH-RANKING officials of the Msunduzi Municipality are set to be investigated after being implicatedin an alleged scam in which they apparently misappropriated more than R1 million in council funds.
The Witness has evidence that municipal manager Rob Haswell, speaker Alpha Shelembe and deputy municipal manager for finance Roy Bridgmohan allegedly by-passed the municipality’s proper procurement process in order to secure R1067119 to finance an African National Congress rally in January.

According to sources, Haswell, Shelembe and Bridgmohan were approached by the regional ANC and asked to help raise funds for an ANC provincial rally that was set to take place on January 18.

Instead of embarking on fund-raising ventures, the sources allege, the three conspired to obtain the funds from the municipality.

Shelembe was given the task of engineering requests for a cultural event called “the Nkosi Mlaba Cultural Day” to be used as a cover, the sources said.

This event was scheduled to take place on January 18, but the authorised payments for the event were allegedly obtained only on January 19.

As far as The Witness can establish, there is no evidence to prove that the cultural event actually took place.

A booking sheet for The Oval, where this event was meant to take place, states that this venue had been booked on January 18 for use by the Midlands Cricket Association.

However, another significant event did occur on January 18 — the ANC provincial rally at Qokololo Stadium in Edendale. It was attended by more than 50?000 people, including national Human Settlement Minister Tokyo Sexwale.

A firm was allegedly paid R497?860 to provide sound, tables, chairs, marquees and a stage at the rally, while another firm was allegedly paid R569?259 for T-shirts, caps, calendars, diaries and paper bags. The total is R1?067?119.

The payment form, which The Witness has in its possession, shows quotes allegedly obtained by Shelembe’s personal assistant, Hazel Xolo, the manager in Shelembe’s office, Nondumiso Hlela, and Haswell.

Bridgmohan allegedly counter-signed the documents, but the absence of the signature of head of procurement Francis Grantham raises questions.

DA MP Mark Steele said that acco­rding to supply chain management regulations, any tenders of significant amount first have to be evaluated by the bid-adjudication committee before being signed by Grantham. Without this, they are not valid, he said.

Steele said another important regulation is that should funds over R1 million be required, council resolution is needed for their authorisation. Should there be no council resolution, then funds cannot be authorised, he said.

IFP councillor and executive committee (Exco) member Dolo Zondi said he did not remember any council resolution about this matter.

“It has never been to council. If this is true then it will put our municipality in a terrible situation. It’s the first I’ve heard of it but I will be investigating it,” he said.

Msunduzi Mayor Zanele Hlatshwayo said she had seen the documents and according to her knowledge no council resolution was passed. She said she would take the documents to council and the issue would be investigated further.

Haswell said he could not comment until he had seen the documents. When The Witness offered to forward the documents to him, he declined.

“The onus is on the DA to forward them to me,” he said.

Shelembe and Hlela failed to respond to voice mail messages asking them to contact The Witness and Bridgmohan could not be reached as his phone was switched off.

DA spokesman Frits de Klerk called for the matter to be investigated immediately.

“Those found guilty should be dismissed from office and the ANC should return the money to the municipality. I am meeting with the auditor-general this week to put the matter before him and to ask that a full investigation take place,” he said.

KZN Local Government and Traditional Affairs MEC Willies Mchunu said the matter was brought to his attention at an ANC press briefing last night.

“The premier and the ANC government are committed in investigating the matter and if there’s any wrongdoing, punitive steps will be taken,” he said. He said he would make sure that he got a hold of the relevant documents this week and proceed from there.

The Witness attempted to elicit reaction from the following people yesterday. This was the outcome:

Msunduzi Mayor Zanele Hlatshwayo - full comment given.

Speaker Alpha Shelembe - failed to contact The Witness by the time of going to print even though messages were left on his phone.

Dolo Zondi (IFP councillor and Exco member) - full comment given.

Roy Bridgmohan (deputy municipal manager for finance) - phone switched off with no option to leave a message.

Nondumiso Hlela (manager in speaker’s office) - did not respond to voice mail messages asking her to contact The Witness.

Rob Haswell (municipal manager) - he told The Witness he would only comment once the DA had sent him the documents.

Willies Mchunu (KZN Local Government and Traditional Affairs MEC) - full comment given.

DA MP Mark Steele - full comment given.

DA spokesman Frits de Klerk - full comment given.

Rates Insensitivity

THE latest supplementary rates valuation roll published recently by the Msunduzi Municipality is a shocking piece of administrative work. Contractors were paid vast sums of money to produce this millennium masterpiece. Values of properties have changed drastically from previous valuation rolls, without even a single household visit by these incompetent evaluators.

Values of some homes and industries have varied from millions of rands to well below their market values, and have increased again to way above those in the initial valuations. I beg an answer from the valuation company to explain these large anomalies and request the methodology they used to establish the values of homes, especially in the northern areas.

The municipality, city mayor and her band of merry men must be held accountable by the ratepayers for not having scrutinised the process of valuation before establishing the rates income in the city budget in the region of R430 million. They are hellbent on destroying this city and plunging it into the depths of despair, with potentially crippling closures of industries. Many are contemplating relocation in order to reduce costs.

Very soon the recession will bite deeper and those who become unemployed will have to sell their homes. This will impact severely on poverty in our city. There has already been an exodus of large companies and it is a fact that other municipalities are far more sensitive to their ratepayers and are intent on ensuring a safe passage during the recession facing us.

It is time that the provincial premier intervened or set up an inquiry into the rates fiasco and the financial state of affairs of the capital which is slowly being poisoned by its management.

AHMED A. KHAN
Belfort, Pietermaritzburg

Video of the recent fire fiasco in Pietermaritzburg

Questions over metro status

17 Jun 2009


THE municipal manager and the city council must be living in a world of their own believing that this city is worthy of, or can attain, metropolitan status. Recent frightening events indicate that its managers are absolutely incapable of running an ordinary city, let alone a metropolitan one.

The latest fiasco at the Colonial Building with inadequate firefighting vehicles and equipment confirms that it cannot protect its citizens properly. One wonders what the end result would have been if it had been a fire in a high building such as Park Avenue with many people trapped by flames and smoke attended by such an inefficient fire and rescue services department?

The short-staffed and equally inefficient traffic department is another essential service department but it is receiving regular complaints from the community about poor traffic management and assistance with the free flow of traffic in the city: so much so that the provincial road traffic inspectorate has to step in and set up roadblocks to deal with inebriated motorists.

Add to these the refuse removal, electricity and water departments with their problems and we have an abominable situation far removed from a city to be proud of, or a capital city worth boasting about. Metropolitan status? You’ve got to be kidding.

JAMES MILLS
Pelha, Pietermaritzburg

Fire damage

Comment by the Editor, The Witness, 16 june 2009 on the devastating fire and the inability of the ill equipped fire department to save a colonial icon in Pietermaritzburg.


IT is ironic that only two weeks after The Witness published as its leading story an exposé of the inadequacies of the city’s firefighting capacity, Pietermaritzburg should have been afflicted by the worst fire disaster since its city hall burnt to the ground in 1898. It is doubly ironic that it could well have been restoration work on the Colonial Building, which has been disgracefully neglected for many years, which quite literally, sparked the inferno. A further irony is that on the very day of the fire, a correspondent to this paper pointed out that the Lion’s River Fire Protection Association is better equipped than Msunduzi.

In terms of the loss of architectural heritage, Friday’s fire is in the same tragic league as that of 1898. Fortunately, not being a “working” building, there was no equivalent loss of priceless records as was the case when the first city hall burnt down. But what if it had been the current city hall? Or Natalia? Or the deeds office? Or the master’s office? Mercifully, too, the fire broke out on a calm and windless day. What might have happened had there been a hot, howling berg wind blowing is a prospect too ghastly to contemplate. Everything downwind ­— the old Presbyterian Church across the road, the master’s office, the Tatham Art Gallery, the complex of parliamentary buildings, perhaps even the Natal Museum and the Imperial Hotel — could have been consumed in an appalling and unstoppable fire storm which would have torn the very heart out of the city.

Mayor Zanele Hlatshwayo declares herself “deeply disturbed”. Two weeks ago the city fathers declared that they were unaware of the parlous state of our fighfighting capacity. They certainly know now. One hopes that disturbance at the highest levels will immediately translate into vigorous action further down the chain of command. The obvious shortcomings in our ability to fight fires must be rectified with all possible speed — lack of pressure in the fire hydrants, leaky hoses, defective fire engines, uncertain command arrangements in a time of crisis — to ensure that nothing similar can take place and the damage of future fires can be mitigated.

Whether the Colonial Building can ever be restored to its former glory remains to be seen. Let us hope it can, although Pietermaritzburg in 2009 does not contain anything like the pool of building and masonry skills that it had in 1898. The least that can be done, however, is to fix that which can be fixed.

Fire-fighting fiasco

THE Msunduzi Municipality fire-fighters were unable to quell flames that gutted the Colonial Building in Church Street yesterday because their equipment was below standard.

Flaming Shame

Flaming shame
A HUGE blaze gutted Pietermaritzburg’s iconic 109-year-old Colonial Building in the CBD yesterday.
http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?showcontent&global[_id]=23987

Take off those blinkers

AS “out of towners”, we have spent a good few hours wandering round the streets of the capital of KwaZulu-Natal waiting for our car to be repaired.

We have been apalled by the litter on the streets and in the gutters, and that so many manhole covers are missing. Even in the city centre, broken concrete litter bins are left lying on the pavement.

When will we see the city being cleaned up and maintained? We’re so tired of inertia. How about some integrity?

There are many men who congregate at the corner of Greyling and Boshoff streets looking for work. Perhaps they would be prepared to clean the streets if given a decent wage.

We were warned not to walk anywhere near the Selgro Centre as it is dangerous. Having driven past that area, we have never noticed a police presence there.

Come Ms Mayor, you and your councillors need to stop walking around with blinkers on, get off the gravy train and start giving the citizens of Pietermaritzburg some service.

After all, the buck has to stop somewhere, why not with you?

SHEILA MILLER Nottingham Road