TOTT 2 September 2021

6 Advertising & Newsdesk: (046) 624-4356 Find us on Facebook 2 September 2021 TALK OF THE TOW N
EDITORIAL
OPINION
Bad
choices on
water
It took a month, but Ndlambe
Municipality eventually got around to
answering resident Mike Varela’s
comprehensive list of questions regarding
his concerns about the reverse osmosis
(RO) plants.
After waiting that long, I thought they
could do with a little prompting so I re-sent
Va r e l a ’s questions to municipal manager
Rolly Dumezweni, infrastructure director
Noluthando Vithi and asked Ward 10
councillor Ray Schenk if he could also help.
Schenk was the only one who gave an
initial response, expressing confidence that
Va r e l a ’s questions would be answered.
He said there were a number of people
who had to give input in order to collate
and reply.
The answers came too late for last
week’s newspaper, but we have them in this
week.
One of the answers that stood out most
to me was the response to Varela’s question:
“Was there ever solid data to verify that the
3ML/day contracted output for the sewage
[wastewater] RO plant was reliable?
“I was told at the meeting I held with Mr
Dumezweni, Newground and QFS that this
figure was based on engineering
calculations, not historic data of the daily
throughput of sewage [from which the
3ML/day would be produced].
“It remains my strong suspicion that our
sewage plant never consistently, if ever, had
the required throughput to deliver the
contracted yield.
“Please provide me with data and
calculations to convince me otherwise.”
The municipality’s response was: “Th e
3ML/day plant is not only taking into
account current demand, but also allows
for growth, development and other planned
p r o j e c t s .”
It’s an incredible response. When this
RO project was initially put out to tender in
late 2019, it was for a 2ML seawater RO
plant, and as funding became available, for
a second phase of an additional 3ML,
upgrading the plant to a 5ML SWRO plant.
After the high court case which threw
out the initial tender, when it was awarded
again – to the same bidder – the project had
changed to an initial 2ML SWRO plant and
a second phase 3ML WWRO plant, a
project given the green light on an
emergency basis, to be able to deliver that
amount of water now – not at some future
date.
It seems disingenuous for the
municipality to say the 3ML output is a
future projection because we don’t have
enough waterborne sewage going into the
sewage plant.
This was known at the time of contract
awa r d .
Why choose and spend millions or
rands on that option if it couldn’t deliver?
Decisions have been made that are not
in the best interests of residents who have
been without water for months.
- Jon Houzet
❝ The 3ML/day plant . .
allows for growth,
development and
other projects
USING THE OPPORTUNITY: The Democratic Alliance were the only political party represented at the Farmers Market at Medolino Caravan Park
and signed up members on Saturday. From left are Edward Walker who will be standing for Ward 6, Nadine Haynes who will be standing for Ward
10, volunteer Delene Hawkins and PR councillor Skura Venene 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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Trying to renew driver’s
licence is nigh impossible
We feel compelled to
scribe a letter to the local
TotT, whereby the
harrowing experiences in
trying to renew a drivers
licence – before the August
31 deadline – can be
shared.
Some serious action or
intervention is required at
the local authority – and
on a national basis – to
address the totally
disastrous endeavours that
SA citizens have to go
through to try renew their
expired or expiring drivers
licences.
To date, we have been
blessed with the thrilling
experience of having to
queue for more than 24
hours in total, to NOT have
been afforded the luxury of
being able to submit to the
rigors of submitting our
licence renewal
applications.
Granted, one meets
some wonderful fellow
citizens and characters in
these never- ending
queues – that can keep one
entertained for hours on
end.
On the third visit to
our scenic and first world
facility - the queue was
over 37 deep at 8am! This
is due to Covid.
Licence renewals are
only open three days a
week, from 8am to 3pm,
with teatime at 10am and
lunch time from 1pm to
2pm.
And the offices close at
3pm!
Inexplicably there is
only one poor soul to man
the eye-testing machine,
the fingerprinting process,
the documentation
acceptance and the
payment facility – because
the staff need to be rotated
so as not to spread Covid.
Never mind the fact
that all “off” staff seem to
come and visit their place
of work on a social basis
c o n t i n u o u s l y.
And the endless queues
conform to the definition
of a Covid “superspreader”
e ve n t .
The process to conduct
the renewal activities takes
approximately one hour
per applicant.
Simple maths can
allow one to deduce that
there is no way on earth
that you will be lucky
enough to complete your
renewal application before
the deadline – let alone
this century!
When enquiring as to
which enlightened soul
has imposed these Covid
“protocols” and whether
said individual had
bothered to ascertain if it
was working or not; simply
put – the answer is “No”–
despite all the adverse
criticism that has been
lodged by staff and the
citizens at large!
The protocol as
implemented is totally
flawed, inadequate and
does not take cognisance
of the current situation and
when backed by the
national disaster in the
issuing of licences, a lot of
entertainment can be
expected in the
m a g i s t ra t e ’s court in the
not too distant future!
So to the new friends
that have been made
during the many long
hours of queueing –
remember that your drivers
licence never expires once
you have it.
It is the Drivers Card
that expires!
So keep your expired
card on you to prove that
you have a licence at all
times and you cannot be
fined or penalised for not
having a licence!
Many happy days
ahead for us yet in our
struggle.
S O M E W H AT
DISILLUSIONED GROUP
OF QUEUERS
CDR please can you spread some light and joy
An open letter to the Management of
CDR Electrical:
One of the landmarks this “place
we call home” can be really proud
of is the magnificent bridge that we
have over the Kowie River.
Many years ago there were
Christmas lights which moved up
and down and were a delight to
watch, but sadly these have been
wrecked and have not worked for
eons.
To remove the cabling, plastic
pipes and light fittings that remain,
can only be done by a company
such as yours, who probably also
have the only “cherry picker” around
that can access these fittings safely.
Can I please ask, on behalf of all
who live in this town, that you make
a plan and remove these? I am
positive our mayor and municipal
manager will agree to this request.
Yes it will take some planning, as
Knitters
grateful
for wool
donations
The “Knitters of Damant” h ave
been delighted and most
grateful for a number of very
generous donations of wool,
simply left at the gate with best
wishes for them to “Ke e p
Knitting”.
These industrious ladies
who meet once a week to
natter and knit are renowned
for the presentation of bright,
colourful blankets to various
charities at the beginning of
each winter, to bring joy and
relief to those who are less
fortunate.
The dozens of beautiful
blankets they lovingly knit are
made possible by the
continued generous gifts of
wool on which they depend.
Thank you to the donors
who keep the Knitting Club
members knitting.
SHIRLEY EVANS
traffic will be affected, but the end
result will be well worth it.
I am sure Jon Houzet can take a
before and after pic and put them, as
well as a short write up, in the paper
when the job is complete.
Please consider this request.
RH
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
2 1348 0051 1957 0731
6 1602 0343 2215 0954 Multi-Security ................... (046) 624-2508
3 1430 0159 2040 0819
7 1633 0414 2246 1024
Chubb Security ................. (046) 624-4810
4 1502 0239 2114 0853
8 1704 0444 2317 1055
Sky Alarms ........................ (046) 624-2806
5 1533 0312 2145 0923
9 1735 0516 2349 1126 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