With the present bungling and corruption in municipal affairs which seriously jeopardises service delivery, Polokwane yearns for swashbuckling politicians in the Tjol Lategan mould to stop the rot once and for all.
So, politicians and executive officials beware, Lategan is on your trail.
Take note of the fact that your bungling and blind eye to corruption has reluctantly lured this most able former politician out of retirement. The community has long been in need of a man of his mettle who does not hesitate to throw down the gauntlet and face up to injustice that affects the entire community.
Polokwane is in dire need of public figures who can identify substantial problems, have an analytical mind and can produce concrete solutions.
The founding of a ratepayers association or similar body similar to that of Louis Trichardt which is operating most fruitfully has been touted for years - people of integrity who come to the fore without fear or favour and put the wellbeing of all the residents first and foremost. People who are not afraid to offer themselves in the interest of the speechless and powerless or, perhaps more aptly, the inept mass.
In all fairness, it is so that Polokwane’s 2010 status and the hurly burly to of putting projects on the table for the city’s brief encounter on the international stage next year place extremely demands on the daily management of municipal matters. Practically everything demanding the ratepayer’s attention causes a headache of gigantic proportion. It is difficult to buy electric power, it is painful and life threatening to drive or move in the city with its lawless drivers. It serves no purpose to complain over an exorbitant municipal account. What became of the paying public’s right to service?
Have the local Chamber of Business and the Handelsinstituut really got teeth or are they simply puppets in the hands of the present decision makers? These are urgent matters. Therefore, will all the "Tjols" of yesteryear please rise so that Polokwane can justify its status as the capital of Limpopo and regain its true character as one of the leading cities in Southern Africa.
We have to leave a lasting positive impression on all our guests next year. Puffing up and powdering our image for short time gain, will have waned into oblivion before we make our international debut in 2010.