TOTT 13 May 2021

6 Advertising & Newsdesk: (046) 624-4356 Find us on Facebook 13 May 2021 TALK OF THE TOW N
EDITORIAL
OPINION
Keeping
Kowie
clean
In the time this writer has been editing
Talk of the Town, there have been
numerous community clean-ups, some
of which Talk of the Town has initiated and
participated in.
For several consecutive years, our
Mandela Day project was a beach clean-up
between Kelly’s Blue Flag Beach and West
Beach. Sometimes we were joined by other
community members.
We always found plenty of litter, in spite
of the fact there is meant to be a dedicated
team of coastal cleaners employed by the
Expanded Public Works Programme. Before
that it was a team called Coast Care, a
public/private partnership between the
Eastern Cape government and a company
based in Makhanda (Grahamstown).
Long-time readers may remember the
time Daily Dispatch journalist Dave
Macgregor broke a story about the Coast
Care workers shirking their duties by
sleeping in the dune bushes, after he was
tipped off by a resident.
There was even a damage control
meeting called by the municipality and the
company managing the workers, at which
the workers tried to deny what was evident
in the photographs taken by Macgregor.
Coast Care is no longer around, but the
job to clean the beaches and riverbanks is
still there, in the form of the EPWP.
Unfortunately, these workers maintain
the reputation of laziness and disregard.
The same kind of half-hearted cleaning
is evident around town. Notwithstanding
that the municipal cleaners have a huge
task on their hands continually picking up
after people who drop their litter
e ve r y wh e r e .
As mentioned in this column before, the
wall at the taxi rank along Southwell Road
is an eyesore – the scene of pervasive
littering and public urination.
Until the municipality stops this by
enforcing the bylaws against littering and
indecent exposure, they will just keep
putting a plaster on a festering wound.
The other spot in town which attracts a
sordid array of pollution is the Duck Pond.
Some rubbish that ends up in the water
is wind-blown, but other things, like used
tyres, are deliberately dumped there.
It is a disgrace that such a beautiful,
natural site should be treated with such
contempt.
TotT initiated a clean-up there too a few
years ago, which also drew community
support, and we collected a lot of rubbish,
from plastic and glass to car parts. But the
littering never ends.
This pollution is a blight and degrading
the environment of this habitat of water,
plant and bird life which should be
safeguarded and preserved.
There are municipal workers assigned to
keeping the town clean. They should not
neglect the fouling of the Duck Pond.
- Jon Houzet
❝ It’s a disgrace such a
beautiful, natural site
should be treated
with such contempt
CONGRATULATIONS: The winners of the Mother’s Day competition with the sponsors of the prizes, namely Buco Port Alfred manager, Gerhard
van der Walt, left, with Benadicta Frimpong (Grade 2) who won a Buco voucher, and Sonelle Muller, owner of 2nd Best Pre-Loved Goods, with
Tiaan Heyns (Grade 10) who won a meal voucher at Wimpy sponsored by Muller Picture: ROB KNOWLES
HAVE YOUR SAY Letters to PO Box 2871, Port Alfred — or e-mail to h o u ze t j @ ta l kof t h e tow n .co. za
This is an open forum for readers to express their opinions. However, the publishers reserve the right to shorten letters. Those printed are not necessarily the views of Talk of the Town. Although noms de plume
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Mad Hatter golf day helps
Sunshine Coast Hospice
The management and staff
at Sunshine Coast Hospice
thank the Royal Port Alfred
Golf Club and all the golfers
and volunteers who raised
much needed funds for
Hospice at the recent Mad
Hatter tournament held at
the club. The tournament
brought in R9,240 for
Hospice. Special thanks to
our Sunshine Coast Hospice
Query over speed
hump ignored
An open letter to
municipal manager
Rolly Dumezweni: A
month later, I have still
had no response.
I write to you
regarding a speed hump
that was put in Findon
Street subsequent to a
meeting between the
council and residents
some three years ago.
The reason for the
hump was t wo f o l d .
One was to reduce
speed and the other,
more importantly, to
divert rainwater from the
road into the stormwater
drain. A sign indicating
a hump was erected.
This hump was
removed during the last
time the grader worked
on the road. So we have
a sign but no hump.
We have had some
gentle rains since its
removal and already the
road has washed away
in places. Soon we will
get heavier rain. Then
the road will have to be
totally repaired again.
Speeding up and
down the road has
increased significantly
now that there is no
hump, and with no rain
the dust is very bad.
We have children,
dogs and old people
walking in the street.
Please can you
arrange to have the
hump replaced or is it
OK for us as residents to
put one in? I would
appreciate the courtesy
of a response.
I was taught by my
elders that one should
always respond to mail
received, even if it is
only to say that you have
received the mail and
are looking into it.
As a resident who
every month pays his
municipal bill, shouldn’t
I expect this from
yourself and your
council?
PAUL PARKER
chairperson Terry Harris
and Glynnis Renecle for coordinating
this fundraiser on
our behalf.
KARIN DRENNAN
Response
over sand
hilariously
ridiculous
The front page article in TotT of
May 6 detailing
Ndlambe’s response to Paul
Pa r k e r ’s letter about the beach
sand build-up at parking lots
was a hilarious tonic in these
depressed times - a real hoot as
they say, it made my day.
The administrator’s reply
read like a Monty Python or
a Beyond The Fringe s k e t ch .
Absolute bureaucratic BS
from the municipality about the
need to appoint a consultant to
“conduct a Basic Assessment
Report and Management Plan”,
blah, blah.
Can one believe this
rubbish?
Surely a couple of municipal
employees armed each with a
broom or two could clear the
sand in no time?
At least the bosses in
Campbell Street provided a few
midweek laughs.
HILARIOUSLY AMUSED
Driver’s licence
move reckless
and possibly
d a n g e ro u s
Absolutely no! There will be
no possible way that as a
citizen of South Africa I will
consent to having my
d r ive r ’s license linked to my
cellphone number.
This government has
failed to do anything
regarding the crime, failed to
establish, nurture and grow
the small business sector, in
fact businesses are closing
and unemployment is
ra m p a n t .
I am not having my
cellphone stolen that carries
my banking, and now my
d r ive r ’s licence as well as e-
mails, and any further
brilliant ideas the private
sector develop that then
Soup Kitchen
needs helpers
The Port Alfred Soup
Kitchen is looking for
volunteers to help with
preparation of food that
needs to go to our
recipients.
We send out food on
Tuesday and Friday
mornings.
We have our own
makes me a slave to my
cellphone.
Due to the fact that many
South Africans spend a lot of
their time out of the country,
renewing the current card
system is painful enough,
but to think the government
intends to use our
cellphones, then it’s game
over for me.
I have had more
cellphones stolen than
glasses broken.
So good luck South
Africa, here’s to more
headaches and more theft
and more identity theft.
Kind regards from
Lebanon.
BERNI JACOBS
vehicles, but also need
drivers who have a valid
d r ive r ’s licence and good
track record to help us
deliver. We take every
Covid precaution.
Thank you in advance.
CRAIG ELLIS,
CHAIRPERSON
Em e rge n cy N u m b e rs
TideGuide courtesy of the South African Navy
Da t e High Lo w Da t e High Lo w
Port Alfred hospital........... (046) 604-4000
Police station..................... (046) 604-2001/2
M ay 13 1656 0439 2302 1055
17 1912 0639 0038 1258 Multi-Security ................... (046) 624-2508
14 1725 0506 2331 1122
18 2013 0724 0125 1347
Chubb Security ................. (046) 624-4810
15 1755 0534 ---- 1150
19 2146 0835 0235 1504 Sky Alarms ........................ (046) 624-2806
16 1829 0604 0002 1221
20 2326 1024 0423 1648
NSRI ................................... 082 - 990 - 5971
Electricity .......................... (046) 624-1111 (a / h )
Gardmed ............................ 0 8 2 -759 - 2 13 4
EMS (Emergency
Medical Services) ........... 10 17 7
Holistic EMS ...................... 063-460-0042
Fire Department................ (046) 624-1111