The Rep 19 May 2017.compressed

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6 Tel: (045) 839-4040 Emergency: (A/H) 083-272-0955 ° Editorial: sonjar@timesmedia.co.za - advertising: charodinev@timesmedia.co.za THE REPRESENTATIVE 19 May 2017 EDITORIAL OPINION Clarity is i m p e r at i v e for harmony AS WINTER gets well and having been without power truly under way, the since Sunday. people of Ezibeleni have EMLM has a notice in The had enough of power cuts. Rep this week indicating the This week’s protests, which proposed periods for outages soon deteriorated into the over the next three weeks. looting of shops in the area, Concern has been expressed were not unexpected after many from various quarters that months of dissatisfaction over outages of up to five days at a unexpected and often lengthy time are unreasonable and that power outages. the impact thereof will be Their frustration is shared by disastrous for locals. people in various residential While various municipal areas of Komani who have been officials have indicated that faced by similar outages, load-shedding may be although Ezibeleni, in particular, considered to prevent such seems to be the worst hit. extended outages and to allow The municipality has given the sharing of the load between various reasons, including the the various areas’ s u b st at i o n s , need to upgrade the residents will need further infrastructure and the national information – and soon. government has indeed given EMLM spokesman Gcobani money for this purpose. Msindwana said the need for This will, however, result in a the work over the next three catch-22 situation for the Enoch weeks was related to the Mgijima Local Municipality infrastructure not having been (EMLM) over the next few maintained for 12 years. weeks as work starts on the While he has acknowledged transformers, resulting in – that the municipality has you’ve guessed it – further and received a large number of extended power outages in the complaints already, he has entire area. currently been unable to A gripe which has been commit to whether there are raised often by residents while any alternatives. The Rep has been covering Let’s hope that there will be electricity interruptions in the clarity soon – and that it will be area, has been the need for an arrangement that residents c o m m u n i c at i o n . will be able to live with in This week, Ezibeleni residents ensuring a more sustainable said the municipality kept mum and efficient power network for despite a section of the area the future. Kings for whom? I AM sure you are going to be sick of me going on about the good things that are happening in rugby in the Eastern Cape. For years we have been pleading with the rest of the country to give our province a chance to showcase our rich reservoir of talent and to have a seat at the table. Now that we are showing that we belong, we are faced with a distinct possibility of being kicked out of Super Rugby at the end of the year. I was at the stadium on Saturday evening when the Southern Kings made history by beating, for the first time, a South African franchise. They also did something they have never done before – winning three matches in a row and tomorrow there is a real possibility that they may extend that when they meet the Brumbies. More than 20000 people were in the stadium and the atmosphere was electric. Those who were there, saw the awakening of a giant. Whether it is allowed to continue will now depend on what happens over the next few weeks. What can we do as the rugby lovers of the Eastern Cape to make sure that our children have a home? We can start by filling up the stadium to show the world that we want this franchise to remain. Secondly, and more importantly, make enough noise through the media and every social media network available so it just becomes too much trouble for Saru to get rid of the Kings. While this is going on, there is one matter that needs attention as well. Who owns the Southern Kings franchise? Who benefits from the funds generated by the franchise? Who are the shareholders of whatever company is running the Kings franchise? IN TOUCH ... with Phumelele P Hlati The original idea behind the formation of the Kings franchise was that both Border Rugby Union and Eastern Province Rugby Union would be shareholders of the franchise and would have joint control. But as it stands, are they? There were more than 20 000 paying spectators last Saturday, where did those gate takings go? When there was a meeting to discuss the set of criteria to determine which two teams would drop out of the Super Rugby competition, who represented the Kings? If the COO Charl Crous is employed by Saru can he really represent the best interests of the Eastern Cape? Is it not time that both Border and EP stand up and take the initiative to wrest the franchise back from Saru? I am afraid if these critical issues are not urgently addressed we might find ourselves left at the altar for sacrifice by Saru like they did to the Southern Spears. STUNNING: Liyanda Yamaphi sent in this photograph of a butterfly in a Komani garden FACE 2 FA C E SIPHIWO TA B O YOUR VOICE ... vox pops on the street What do you think about ... SIPHAMANDLA GEORGE SOUTH Africans have been posting about #menaretrash and the image it is creating of the male species. Do you think all men are heartless and brutal? The Rep intern Sivenathi Gosa took to the streets of Komani to find out what people think. Siphiwo Tabo from Komani Some of them, it depends on the person including how they deal with a situation that will affect their e m ot i o n s . Siphamandla George from Sada No, not all of us. I think someone’s background plays a huge role in their with Alderson Ambulance Service area manager Mark Berger Question: Describe your typical day at the office? A: Ensuring that the day-to-day operational needs are met to give the best service we can to our patients and community. Q: What motivates you to wake up in the morning and do your job? A: Knowing that my crew members and I have the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives on a daily basis. Q: What type of challenges do you face on a daily b a s i s? A: Just to mention a few: Education, change, being able to adapt to different situations as no day holds the same challenges as the previous day. Q: If you could play a song on a global radio station, what song would you play to make everyone happy? A: I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas. Q: What item can you not leave the house without? A: My cell phone – technology keeps us in touch with the world. Q: If you were to meet the ‘younger you’ – what kind Z A N D I S WA MAFUNA life and how they grow up. Abusive men were probably affected by their upbringing. Zandiswa Mafuna from Illinge Not all men are abusive, it depends on their upbringing and past. Some men have low self-esteem, so when they grow up, they want to prove to society that they are capable of doing anything, regardless of it being wrong or right. Zethu Mcunukelwa from Cacadu Yes, men can be heartless and abusive. They think that, in whatever situation they face, they have to raise ZETHU M C U N U K E L WA of advice would you give h i m? A: Accept the things you cannot change; have courage to change the things you can; and have the wisdom to know the difference. Q: What best defines a leader according to you? A: The ability to motivate your team to achieve the highest levels of performance while creating an extraordinary organisation in the process. Q: What do you like the most about Komani? A: The way the community supports each other, not only on a business level, but also on a personal level – the constant upgrading of infrastructure; health services and resources. Q: Do you think we are living in the best or worst t i m e s? A: Both, I think it is what you do about it, what difference you bring to your situation, challenges and c i r c u m st a n c e s . Q: What is the biggest problem you see in our countr y? A: The lack of education and educational resources available to individuals D I VA N JAGERS their hand to a woman to prove that they are powerful. I believe that incidents of young women being killed by their loved ones are at a critical point. These men could have dealt with whatever problem they had with their partners in a different way, rather than to kill or beat them. Divan Jagers from Komani No, there are a few good men that could serve as role models – there are just not enough of them. Those that are around are not celebrated enough.
THE REPRESENTATIVE 19 May 2017 Tel: (045) 839-4040 Emergency: (A/H) 083-272-0955 ° Editorial: sonjar@timesmedia.co.za - advertising: charodinev@timesmedia.co.za 7 24 Prince Alfred Street, Queenstown or sonjar@dispatch.co.za or fax (045) 839-4059 Letters must be accompanied by the name and address of the author. A pseudonym should be supplied where necessary. The editor reserves the rights to choose and edit letters for publication. Defamatory and slanderous letters will not be considered. Letters have to be brief and to the point due to space restrictions. Please limit letters to 250 words or less CLAWS! Ryan Hoffmann, a pupil at Wonderland Playschool, shows off his dinosaur slippers on Slipper Day Picture: SIVENATHI GOSA IN OUR POST BAG TVET colleges are indeed substandard SABELO Bantwini Jayiya writes: It is distressing at times listening to politicians mouthing platitudes about education. I read Mduduzi Manana’s speech where he implored parents to send their children to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, instead of universities. He cautioned parents against smearing TVET colleges as substandard. For your information, Mr Manana – they are. He is the deputy minister of higher education, the department that is supposed to produce employable youth. TVET colleges are failing dismally in this regard. These colleges want to compete with universities. They concentrate more on theory than practical. They are not a shadow of what old technikons and technical colleges used to be. The TOKKIE Deysel of the Queenstown Civic and Ratep ayers’ Association writes: An open letter to Chris Hani District Municipality municipal manager Moppo Mene: In reference to your advert that we saw in the Rep on Friday April 21 2017, where the public and stakeholders are invited to give input and comments on your Draft Tariff Structure Proposal for 2017-18. We are extremely confused and disappointed to see the advertisement, especially since you did not honour your commitment to meet with the R at e p ay e r s ’ Association to discuss minister tasked with oversight responsibilities has dismally failed. Students are not exposed to the practical part of things. Parents are forced to fork out mountains of cash sending their children to private colleges if they want the best for their children. Manana is not even ashamed to tell us that during “the construction of the Medupi power station in Limpopo, there were 1000 people from Thailand on the project as welders.” Why was that? Sir, how many TVET colleges are there in South Africa? Why could we not have those skills in the past 23 years? You have all failed in your oversight responsibilities. These colleges do as they wish, because they know you either do not care or do not know what is happening inside those institutions. the concerns that were raised since 2014. We tried on numerous occasions to have follow-up meetings regarding our concerns and were promised that an investigation would be done and that you would have follow-up meetings with us to clarify how your tariffs were calculated in the first place. It is impossible for us to consider any increased tariffs if you are unable to even explain and prove how the tariffs were calculated in the first place. In other words, all we want to know is: For example, If you charge R59.96, how did you determine that amount? If you start charging BEAUTIFUL: Polly Russell sent in this photo of a tree in autumn splendour in their Komani garden water usage at R8.66 and then step the tariffs up, how did you determine this amount? We are further charged a monthly basic charge for water of R91 per month per household. What did you base this on? In other words, where are your expenditures and related calculations to prove your tariffs? Once we have this information, we can review your proposal and give feedback with value. To date, we have not had any further feedback or clarity regarding these calculations, but yet you are in the process of presenting it to your council. And further, Mr Mene, may we remind SOCIETY SNIPPETS From birthdays to anniversaries to achievements to notices ... Share your information with us on sonjar@dispatch.co.za or fax (045) 839-4059 B I RT H D AY wishes are extended to Annalie Taylor (today), Paul Coetzee and PJ Cloete (May 20), Ronel Roux (May 21), Pierre Jacobs, Nicole Baartman (May 22), Allie Pillay (May 23), Michelle and Greg Baxter (May 24), Iyanda Jaggers, Siyabonga Vetezo, Mlancela Gxaba (May 25), Cecil Holmes (May 26), Marlu Vlok, Sharon Hammond, Salome Coetzee and Erika Terblanche (May 28), Tony McDougall (May 29), Kim Kleinsmith and Catherine Hartley (May 30) and Abuyile Macengeza and Allison Genade (June 4). BEL ATEDbirthday wishes go to Reigene Jacobus (May 12), Amy Cloete and Kobie du Preez (May 15) and Pumza Ngini (May 14). WISHES for better health go to Esmari Kernekamp following a knee operation. CONGRATUL ATIONS to Lena and Joseph Stander who celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary last Thursday and to Allie and Renee Pillay who were married three years ago on May 24.. SY M PAT H Y is extended to the family and friends of the late Bevan Greeff, Thandolwethu Dyonase, John Kemp, Nomthandazo Bolani, Jacoba Williams, Nonceba Levetson, Thandiwe Molteno and Bukiwe Kupiso. Public input on tariffs cut off you that we are still waiting for the other promised meetings regarding the concerns around billing, reading of water meters, incorrect accounts, data cleansing, cleaning of meters and overtime paid to staff for billing and the supposed printing, folding and delivering of accounts that were never received by the consumers. We were promised that some of these meetings would take place in October 2016, yet it’s now M ay 2017 with the approach of another financial year ending, and still no meetings or even the decency to contact us and explain if there are any challenges or progress or anything relating to these matters.
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