Life with Suzie - T'is the season to be jolly

Metal thieves have been stealing the cast iron manhole covers around our city for a while now and we knew it was just a matter of time before they hit Richmond Hill. For the sake of a few rands these thieves have no qualms about putting the lives and property of their hapless victims at risk. And what contributes to the problem is that there is always an unscrupulous scrap metal dealer who is willing to buy these ill-gotten gains.

Whole streets have been left with gaping holes that could cause serious damage to car tyres. Residents have been up in arms because of the slow pace at which this problem was being attended to.

Then in a matter of a few nights Richmond Hill was missing 28 manhole covers and warnings went out via our Facebook neighbourhood watch page to watch out for these new hazards in our roads. All sorts of impractical temporary solutions were suggested, like filling the holes with gravel - "Hello, what happens if there is a fire and you have to connect a hose to one of the fire hydrants?"

This was not problem for a creative soul like Suzie, who comes up with ideas and is prepared to carry them through.

"Let's plant trees in the holes," she suggested, "that will provide a good warning to motorists and get the attention of the municipality." No sooner were the words uttered and she had sourced a good supply of pine saplings and some willing helpers, took my bakkie (truck, ute) the next day and set about her mission with her usual verve.

The result was that by that afternoon every open hole in the streets of Richmond Hill had its own Christmas tree. Not to be out-done the local residents and shop owners captured the vision and started decorating the trees....and the neighbourhood  was looking very festive for a few hours.

By the next morning, much to our indignation, reports started coming in that many of the trees had gone missing,  but on closer inspection we found that the manholes were covered with new plastic covers. Within less than 48 hours there was not an open hole in any of the streets in our neighbourhood.

"How did you get it right so quickly?" residents from neighbouring suburbs wanted to know after passing through Richmond Hill.

"Easy," came the reply from all and sundry, "just plant a tree."

That is the power of a fun and creative protest. One person with a vision and the passion to carry it through and a bureaucrat who does not like the embarrassment of being shown up.

Oppose the Protection of "Corruption" Bill

Make your voice heard today by protesting against The Protection of State Information Bill, which is to be voted on in parliament today. This is just another nail in the coffin for freedom of speach, in our hard won democracy and a step backwards to the old apartheid style legislation. It also raises issues of credibility about the governments sincerity to fight corruption.

This is not a time to keep quiet so if you have not yet done so please add your voice, by going to the AVAAZ website, where you can send messages on line or access the telephone numbers of the decision makers.

The "Editors' pleas on secrecy bill" in the Times LIVE gives a thought provoking view of the main concerns about the bill.

WE WILL NOT BE MUZZLED!

Frack Off - the Karoo is our heritage

The announcement by Susan Shabangu Minister of Mineral Resources this week that the moratorium on shale gas prospecting would remain in place at least until the end of February is welcomed but does not provide much comfort. Until there is a total ban on fracking we can never become complacent or be satisfied.

Many of us are wondering where this road is taking us ........

The foothills of the Winterhoek Mountains, near Klipplaat, travelling towards the Cockscomb Mountain, which is shrouded in clouds

....and if fracking is allowed what will it do to the delicate fabric of the Karoo.............

Somewhere near Mt Stewart, between Steytlerville and Jansenville.

......will the oil companies only be satisfied when this vista is polluted and littered with fracking sites....we have alreay been faced with many of their lies and promises that will never be fulfilled......

The unspoilt Karoo, between Steynsburg and Hofmeyer

.........and where is the water going to come from for the fracking process and what will all the chemicals do to the supply of ground water?

Somewhere near Klipplaat

SAY NO TO FRACKING

To be or not to be #2 - Keep it green

From about the mid 1800's until 1903, when they were forcibly removed from the area, the Mfengu people lived in Richmond Hill, in an area that was known as the Strangers Location. These were people who worlded predominantly on offloading ships that arrived in the Bay. The Strangers Location was established by an act of Parliament, which meant that there was security of tenure. That is until the bubonic plague broke out and as a result of sweeping powers that were granted to get rid of the plague, the Strangers Location was burned to the groound and the residents were moved to New Brighton.

The park in Richmond Hill was originally the cemetary of the Mfengu resident and is recorded as such on the early maps of the city. Over the years the cemetary became public open space and eventually a park. Part of it was integrated as a playground for the old Erica School.

The old Erica School Play ground, which is marked on the old maps as part of the cemetary, looking towards the St Phillips Church, which was established in 1884 to serve the community.

The National Department of Public Works and the SA Police service now want to build a 1011 call centre and a 50 metre lattice mast on part of the cemetary, but before they can do so they have to comply with with the heritage laws. This requires that the NPWD and the SAPS have to follow a lengthy public participation process before they can even consider building on the site. Hopefully the reaction of the Mfengu people and the duration of this process will throw a spanner in the works and they will rethink their blighted strategy.

Notice required by the developers to locate persons with an interest in the cemetary. The fact that this should be in the official languages of the province, does not seem to have occurred to the developers.

We certainly do not want an ugly four storey admin building dumped on the edge of our park and will continue with our protest action. We feel that this should remain a green area and that a small monument should be erected on the site, in memory of the contribution of the Mfengu, to the early development of the city.

To be or not to be - Part 1

The activist in me has re-emerged after lying dormant for many years, so here goes.......time to vent my spleen.

The community of Richmond Hill, Port Elizabeth is up in arms over the the intention of the National Department of Public Works and the SA Police to build a four story call centre, with a 50 metre high radio tower, in the heart of our historic suburb.

They propose to build this ugly, ill conceived and poorly planned edifice alongside the old Erica School building, which is one of the historic landmarks of the City. Not only that, it will front right onto the park and also take away the afternoon sun from the residents in St Phillips Street. Oh, and let's not forget that the view of the Erica Building will be obscured from many directions.

As people who are at the forefront of fighting crime in our neighbourhood, we are fully supportive of the need to upgrade the 10111 call centre, with the latest technology, but not at the expense of our quality of life, or the negative effect this will have on our heritage or the value of our properties.

Despite strong opposition, which has been dismissed as emotive, the bureaucratics have decided to push ahead with the project. The community has decided to fight it with equal, if not greater determination. The authorities still need to go through a process of public participation and do an environmental impact assessment on the radio mast, and a Heritage Impact Assessment on the old burial site, so we have a while to go.

Why many of us are emotive, is not surprising, as the authorities have applied the mushroom principle with us, by keeping us in the dark and feeding us crap. We have arranged all the public participation meetings. It was through our efforts that it finally emerged that it was not a two storey building, but a four storey building that was to be built. It was us who pointed out to them that they were about to start building on an old Mfengu burial site. The tender process started before the public participation process..........I could go on, but will not.

As far as the SAP is concerned they will play it by the book and as long as the project fulfills all the legal requirements, it will go ahead. We say, it may be legal but that does not make it right.
It is very easy to dismiss as emotive, the views of the community, but the reality is that we live here. We will have to live with the building blocking our views. We will have to live with the impact of a 15 month building project on our doorstep. We will have to live with the disruption of the comings and goings of shift workers at all times of the day and night, on our already crowded roads.

Accoring to the consultants, "there are no panoramic or excellent views that will be impaired to such an extent as to significantly deminish the market value of any of the adjoining or neighbouring properties." We beg to differ!

The way we see it is that the SAP have been tardy in their planning and now want to push through the project, without a Plan B, because the upgraded call centre is one of the requirements for the 2010 World Cup Soccer. Time is running out and this is the quickest way to solve their problem. We do not believe that the fabric of our community should be sacrified for the short term expedency of four days of soccer. There are alternative sites, which will be better suited to this project.

If anyone from the community wants to join the protest I will be happy to send you a copy of our 24 page submission.