TOTT 28 March 2019

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March 28, 2019
OPINION
Te r r i b l e
threat to
Mak ana
We often say in Port Alfred, with
some measure of whimsy, that no
matter how grim it gets with the
water outages and how foul the water is
when it comes back on, that “at least we’re
not Makana”.
And that is true, the residents of
Ndlambe are fortunate in that while we
also have a collection of self-serving
cadres in the town council and deployed in
the municipality, they have not
mismanaged the town or looted the public
purse to the point of widespread failures in
service delivery.
We have a water supply and water
quality problem, but it is not (yet) as dire
as Grahamstown’s. And that is even with
the helpful interventions Makana has
received through water donations and
boreholes being dug, not only by Gift of
the Givers, but from Port Alfred businesses
and residents.
Because aside from being grateful we
are not in Makana’s position, Ndlambe
people do feel sympathy and compassion
for the people of Makana.
And though we also endure load
shedding and had a 12-hour scheduled
maintenance outage on Tuesday – a loss
of business for many smaller businesses
which do not have generators – we do not
have the looming threat of 14-hour a day
power cuts.
It is mind-boggling to comprehend how
a city could survive such lengthy power
outages indefinitely. Not only affecting
private consumers, businesses, schools
and hospitals, it would have a knock-on
effect in the delivery of municipal services,
including in the provision of water and
pumping of sewage.
Imagine what a hellhole Makhanda
would become with no water at all coming
out of the taps and sewage flowing down
streets all over the city.
This in addition to the problem the
municipality already has with keeping up
with refuse removal. We have seen the
photos of huge piles of garbage lining
streets in some areas.
We can understand Eskom’s
exasperation with Makana Municipality, as
the municipality defaulted on a payment
agreement for debt going back years. The
tally in September last year was that the
municipality owed R85m to Eskom.
And damningly, even though it has
boasted a 97% collection rate for
electricity payments from ratepayers in
some recent months, it has not paid this
money over to Eskom, but rather used it to
pay municipal salaries.
This is in contravention not only of its
contractual obligations to Eskom, but of its
own council resolution.
If Eskom is able to carry out its threat,
the ordinary people of Makana would be
punished for the sins of the municipality,
and the cadres at Makana Municipality
simply don’t care.
- Jon Houzet
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Tide Guide
Kind courtesy-SA Navy
HIGH
2059 0822
---- 1021
0033 1317
0153 1409
0229 1441
0257 1509
0323 1535
0349 1601
L OW
1448 0207
1744 0328
1941 0703
2022 0807
2051 0841
2118 0910
0936 2144
1002 2209
HAVE YOUR S AY
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Man and nature
impact the earth
The other day I was contemplating
a composite satellite map of the
earth taken at night.
What struck me was the amount
of light needlessly sent out into
space from our spaceship earth.
Leading the pack, of course,
was the USA with small country
towns showing up as big blobs of
light.
One man standing for the next
presidency is running on the ticket
of climate change.
All he has to do is tell the
Americans to switch off their
lights at 10pm, like we used to do
in the small towns in SA before
Eskom supplied electricity 24
hours a day at a greater cost.
This would allow millions of
tons of fossil fuels to remain
unburnt in the ground.
Fortunately we have the engine
museum in Stutterheim to show
us how the old timers modernised
their world by using just enough
light and power to do the job.
The problem lies here, that the
job never ends around the world.
People earn a living in the
remotest places, in locations
before unheard of, because of the
modern facilities created by the
internet and electronics.
They could, however, work in
the dark because all electronic
equipment carries enough light to
do the job.
We have not even mentioned
the other invisible parts of the
electro-magnetic spectrum like TV,
radio, radar, etc, which in the last
100 years have been used at an
Emergency numbers
Port Alfred hospital – (046) 604-4000
Police station – (046) 604-2001/2
Multi-Security – (046) 624-2508
Chubb Security – (046) 624-4810
Sky Alarms – (046) 624-2806
NSRI – 082-990-5971
Electricity (a/h) - (046) 624-1111
EMS (Emergency Medical Services) – 10177
Gardmed –082-759-2134
Holistic EMS – 063-460-0042
Fire Department – (046) 624-1111
increasing tempo and also go out
into space from ear th.
Since the beginning of the
industrial revolution, wasteful
processes have been the order of
the day.
Then, whereas up to 10 tons of
coal were used to produce one ton
of pig iron, now only one ton is
needed in a modern integrated
iron and steel mill.
Gushing oil wells were left to
dry out so they could be pumped.
In other areas wasteful practices
were the order of the day, like
flood irrigation.
Monoculture, with crops like
rice, wheat, maize, soybeans,
groundnuts, etc, alters the albedo
or reflectivity of the earth’s
surface on a seasonal basis.
The difference between dryland
albedo and crop covered soil can
be considerable.
As human population increases,
so crop production must increase.
Once again the problem of
wastefulness, where the western
world throws away more than half
of its production only because it is
deemed not the right colour or
shape, etc, raises its head.
If the human race is to survive
then this aspect of our economies
will have to be addressed.
One solution could be to puree
the products on site and send the
juice, suitably preserved and
packed to market because
beggars can’t be choosers.
Removal of forests to create
grasslands and orchards also
changes the albedo but not on a
Non-payment is theft
Your opinion on page 6 of
TotT March 14 refers.
In the last line, you say,
“…which we are paying
fo r ”. It would probably be
more correct to say “which
some of us are paying for”.
“Some odd requests,
positive balance” on page
4 of the same edition, it
states “debt owed by
municipal account holders
had risen to R139m”, while
in the next column, it
states, “debt owed by
government departments,
of which R2m was older
seasonal basis. However large as
these actions may be, and no
matter that they are increasing as
the world population increases
(one billion in 1952 to more than
eight billion now) they cannot be
compared to the large-scale
natural causes of climate change.
Things like the gradual change
in the declination of the earth’s
axis of rotation, and cyclical
changes in the sun’s radiation
output from sunspots, plus
random increases in volcanic
activity can all contribute to
climate change in the short-term
and the long-term.
Thermal winds, called Rossby
Waves, rule the distribution of air
masses in the upper air. These
spirals of alternating low and high
pressure in turn affect the wind
speed and direction in air masses
over the earth’s surface.
None of these large circulations
can be controlled or affected by
human activity and will go on as
they have over the eons.
Man’s impact on the earth’s
surface has increased over the
last 250 years, but there can be
little doubt that it is not up to man
to cause spells of cold air invasion
and prolonged heat waves.
If the aspiring American
president is serious about
reducing surface temperatures
then let him take all the aircraft
out of the skies so that he can
repeat the results of the three
week-ban on flying after 9/11.
DESMOND KOPKE, Damant Lodge
than 90 days”.
Exco seemed more
concerned about the R2m
than the R139m.
The debt of municipal
account holders must
exclude free services to
indigent residents, so it is
either debt by those who
should be able to afford to
pay or those who utilise
services they know they
cannot afford and have no
intention of ever paying for
– that is theft, which is a
crime.
ROBERT NICOL
DAM IN A SAD STATE:
The Port Alfred
balancing dam is so
low the bases of the
level markers are
completely exposed.
Aside from that, the
surface of the water
is covered with algae.
The balancing dam is
the main storage
facility between the
Sarel Hayward Dam
at Waters Meeting
near Bathurst and the
water treatment
works where water is
made ‘p ot a b l e ’ fo r
household use. There
have been many
complaints lately
from residents about
the poor quality of
municipal water,
including its strong
chemical and ‘rot ten’
smell and brown
colour
Picture: JON HOUZET
Te l k o m ’s
Wi-Fi phone
rings foul
In early December 2018, we received a
spirited call from a bouncy lady who
explained to us that Telkom was
discontinuing the landline service and
replacing it with a cordless facility.
Consequently, we were offered a free
Wi-Fi phone, valued at R1,200+ that would
be delivered within four to six weeks.
Should we decline the offer, we would
have to pay for an equivalent phone once
the landline ceased operation, which was
planned by Telkom to be in the near future.
We accepted and the DWR-720/PW 3G
FLLA Wi-Fi phone was delivered. Our
landline was deactivated that af ternoon.
Armed with the downloaded instruction
manual, the phone was put together and
we eagerly put it to use.
What a disappointment. Signal is poor
to non-existent in Cannon Rocks,
confirmed by Telkom technicians in the
area. We need a booster they say.
Phoning the Telkom helpline is simply
not a helpful option with the call staff
referring us to the nearest Telkom shop.
So, the 320km round trip was
undertaken to the nearest facility. The
shop staff knew nothing about boosters
and suggested we obtain one at a
well-known electrical goods supplier.
This supplier had no clue of what I am
asking for, and in turn referred me to a
firm of computer software suppliers who,
although very helpful, had never heard of
the Wi-Fi phone, let alone a booster.
Where previously we had two landline
phones linked by a jack, this is no longer
possible as Telkom staff say two Wi-Fi
phones can’t be run off the same sim card.
So, there we have it. The landline service
I enjoyed has been replaced by a system
that buzzes, fades and often drops the call,
provided I can get a line in the first place.
And a booster is required, which no one
knows anything about.
ES GROSSMAN, Cannon Rocks
Irate boat owners’
warning to thief
To the “gentleman” in the white Corsa
hatchback, very loud exhaust, no number
plate, who on Sunday March 17 at 2.15am
broke the hatch on our boat, Dante, which
is moored at the marina jetties, stole our
almost new battery and a tank which was
full of petrol.
You know who you are. Good luck to
you!
You might get away with it now, but one
day you will answer for all your evil deeds.
DAVE AND JEAN PETZER