Long drop for toilets
2005-05-26
Susan Botha
THE Drakenstein Council’s method of budget planning left observers reeling this week - and nearly left Hermon without public toilets for another year.
On the current budget, an amount of R200 000 was budgeted for public toilet facilities at Hermon which have not yet been constructed.
At a meeting of councillors JT Basson and Deon Swart, Tommie Matthee (acting head of Community Services) and Albert van der Merwe (parks department), it was decided recently that there was a bigger need for the development of sports facilities in the rural area.
At last week’s meeting of the Mayoral Committee, Councillor Basson explained their decision: “We were unsure about the best location for the Hermon public toilets.”
He said there was not enough time in the recent budget year to consult with the community and build the facilities.
It was decided that there was a bigger need for the development of sports facilities in the rural area. A request had also been received for the construction of netball fields.
With the R200 000 budgeted for the toilet facilities, one netball field can be constructed at Hermon and one at Gouda at a cost of R120 000.
A further set of soccer goal posts (R8000), upgrading of the sport clubhouse (about R30 000) and temporary stands at the rugby fields (20 000) can be financed for Gouda.
Councillor André vd Spuy de Villiers, responsible for finances, commented on the principle of shifting allocations of finance at will: “It is wrong and a burden on the budget.”
No-one reacted, except for Speaker Zandisile Cekiso, who said netball players at Saron and Gouda had not been able to play a home match for the past four years, because of the lack of facilities.
Wellington Museum
Later on in the Mayoral Committee meeting, de Villiers tabled changes related to public consultation on the operating and capital budget for 2005/06.
Among the IDP/budget roadshow inputs was an amount of R200 000 for the Wellington Museum.
Councillor Arthob Pietersen and Deputy Mayor Anthea Sheldon were not happy about this change.
Pietersen said money should not be given to museums “if Council is not sure that the entire community is represented and served by the institution”.
The deputy mayor felt there were more important issues, like speed bumps for instance.
Councillor Bokkie Claasen was angered by these remarks, and told the meeting that she had intimate knowledge of the work done by the Paarl Museum.
“They serve everyone and their service is outstanding.”
Councillor Deon Swart added: “If we don’t look after our museums, our children will not know our history.”
The engineers department then informed the meeting that they had enough money for speed bumps, whereupon it was decided to use the R200 000 for the original budget item: public facilities at Hermon.
Thus the discussion came full circle, closing with a last word by Councillor de Villiers: “If we don’t build the facilities, the money can be reallocated at midyear.”
More about the museum in the Wellington supplement.
More
News
|
