MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

Counting the cost of Student Protests

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Dear Ratepayers, Business and Civil Society,

One billion rand from our ratepayers monies disappears annually due to theft, corruption and mismanagement from the NMB Metro and to compensate for this, the following year WE, as ratepayers, are faced with the highly inflated increases from the Metro in order to recover and survive. We have no option to utilise the services of another competitive service provider, WE just have to pay.

Over the last week we have seen how students protested not to pay the 6% increase and caused millions of rands of damages throughout the country and what punishment do they get for doing that, 0% increase and once again WE the rate and taxpayers are paying to repair and recover from the damages caused by students. Now I ask myself how will South Africa ever recover from the financial mess WE as rate and taxpayers find ourselves in. Seemingly we also have to start protesting before the Metro announces next year’s budget.

I know what you are thinking, that it is not in our nature to protest and that we will at the end of the day give in and just pay and sink ourselves or business deeper into debt. WE are paying for the corrupt politicians and officials who have created the reason why everything in our city and country are becoming more and more unaffordable. Well I am no longer willing to do that and am ready to protest but not in a hostile manner by burning tyres and throwing dirt drums at cars. I am now withholding my rates until I see the end of corruption in our Metro.

Man up and do the same or just follow the crowd and pay so the corrupt politicians and officials can live a luxury life with your money.

Regards

Kobus Gerber
NMB Ratepayers association

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Port Elizabethan

This author is a 'catch-all' for occasional articles and letters written to MyPE. The Author of each article can be found in the signature at the bottom of each individual article.