Area north mini mayor Suzette Little blasted councillors and council officials for sloppiness at the stormy Sub-council 1 meeting last week.
First to raise Ms Little’s ire, at the meeting in the Milnerton council chambers on Friday March 17, were the spelling mistakes and errors in the minutes.
“The errors are unacceptable,” she fumed. “We cannot spend time correcting spelling, working out the missing words and putting in the words. This must be addressed at the next meeting.”
ANC Ward 104 councillor Lubabalo Makeleni also berated those responsible for the errors: “I have a serious problem with these minutes. The minutes should include the input of all councillors, and why were they not captured? We are very concerned about this.”
Ms Little bristled again when she learnt an item receiving attention on the agenda had not been followed up. Slamming her first on the table, she said: “What I understand here is that officials did not submit a report. I want names, and I will take it to the city manager.”
A report to sub-council on a fencing project for proposed horse stables in Atlantis also sparked a war of words, and while councillors, including sub-council chair Cynthia Clayton, apologised for the errors, saying the council was understaffed, Ms Little was having none of it.
Raising her voice, she said: “The reason the mayor brought in the organisational development and transformation plan was to shake things up and not maintain the status quo. It is not business as usual. We need to go forward and move things up and streamline things.”
She repeated this several times when items on the agenda came up, saying: “Excuses are not enough. I am interested in the ‘why not’ and ‘how not’.”
Mr Makeleni and Ward 23 councillor Nora Grose locked horns when Mr Makeleni said it seemed traffic lights were prioritised in “white” areas, such as those leading off from the R27 to Melkbosstrand, while they were “being ignored” further up the road on the intersection leading to Atlantis.
“All officials should be working on the same parity of service,” he said.
Ms Grose retorted: “We cannot take race into every instance of service delivery, hence my objection to the use of the words ‘whites’ and ‘blacks’.”
Mr Makeleni thanked the City for the proposed library in Dunoon following the sod-turning ceremony on Thursday March 16 (See page 19).
“We have been waiting a long time for this and we will look after it while it is being built and will ensure there are no mischievous people stealing things during its construction.”
On the issue of water, he said: “People in Dunoon do not think the water issues affect them. I ask council to put law enforcement officers out there to fine offenders.
“There are many people washing their blankets outside for example with flowing water from taps.”
