These are the things that get under our readers' skins....
Image: ChatGPT
The national Public Works ministry under Durban’s Dean Macpherson and department must please take all necessary steps speedily to legally evict the 3 ex-MPs from MKP who continue to occupy parly accommodation despite being removed from office as MPs by their shady, inept and policy-lacking party, which is generally plagued by controversy and in-fighting.
Yes the lease agreements must be reviewed early to include amendments that will cover situations like those under consideration, as well as others, to combat unlawfulness.
An order for legal and other relevant costs must be sought against the ex MPs GA Mogotsi, NG Mgwebi and RB Mbiki.
Access to courts re evictions and various issues comes at a high cost and the taxpayers usually foot such huge bills unfortunately.
Hamba defaulting MPs hamba …… Your freebie days of parly accommodation and accompanying benefits must end soon. Try your luck elsewhere, like the shelters for the poor and homeless! | Simon Dehal Verulam
Local government will only start working when the officials start working.
Local government is often judged by what residents see on the ground. Councillors are usually the first to hear and get blamed when services fail.
The uncomfortable truth however is that local government can only function if the officials entrusted with implementing decisions actually do their jobs.
In the KwaDukuza Municipality, we are seeing a worrying trend. Junior officials, often responsible for basic service delivery functions, are increasingly unresponsive to requests, sometimes for months on end.
This culture of unresponsiveness mirrors behaviour higher up the chain. Many in senior management also display indifference in responding to councillors and community concerns.
Most alarming of all is the blatant political bias that remains entrenched. There are instances where junior officials appear far more responsive to councillors from certain parties, while others are ignored. Officials are not employed by political parties, they are employed by the people of KwaDukuza.
The Municipal Systems Act is clear that officials must be politically neutral and committed to service delivery.
Officials must remember that they are public servants. Councillors, regardless of party affiliation, are elected representatives of the people. We have different roles, but a shared obligation to our people.
If we are serious about fixing local government, we must start by restoring a culture of service and a fundamental shift in attitude. | Privi Makhan Caucus Leader, DA KwaDukuza
In the High Court in Durban, Judge Rob Mossop, in a scathing and unprecedented judgment, admonished a lawyer for incompetence in a divorce case, instructing her to pay costs on a punitive scale.
He also penalised liquidation lawyers, ordering them to refund fees.A judge of his calibre is a fearless and unwavering pillar of the judiciary. His verdict reflected a no-nonsense approach – clear, crisp, concise and academically rigorous.
To serve with honour is to serve without fear or favour, and Judge Mossop exemplified this through his impartiality and firm interpretation of the law.
In a world increasingly comfortable with ambiguity, Judge Mossop remains a beacon of clarity. He shows little tolerance for theatrics, focusing instead on facts, the law and the responsibilities of the bench.
He stands out as a jurist of integrity and legal excellence, a scholar of distinction and a symbol of the strength of our judicial system. | FAROUK ARAIE Benoni
The contention by a black academic, Pumlani Majavu, of North West University (in your sister paper, The Mercury, February 9) that disregard for black lives in post-apartheid South Africa is the direct result of centuries of white rule, must rate as a new low in the list of excuses made by some blacks for the failed governance that now prevails.
In providing an extensive list of the ills that prevail – from lawless taxi drivers, malfunctioning hospitals, townships where there are no regulations, violence and chaos – Majuvu insists that the situation reflects an “historical racial script… entrenched in the polity” of South Africa “institutionalized by centuries of anti-black rule.”
How Majavu is qualified to hold an academic post by writing such deplorable nonsense beggars belief. Before the ANC’s destabilization started in the 1980s, the townships were regulated and orderly, as were hospitals. Violence did occur in 1960 and 1976 but it was not ongoing as is the case today where in KZN alone 121 political assassinations occurred in 2024/25.
The number of deaths per thousand declined steadily from 1950 to 1990, but has increased since 1994. The murder rate of 84 per day was unheard of during apartheid times.
Since blacks constitute 80% of the population, it should be obvious that statistically they will feature prominently in death rates and in tragic and unfortunate occurrences.
While Majavu evades the obvious conclusion that the apparent disregard for black lives is self-inflicted because since 1994 blacks have been in power, the unstated conclusion of Majavu’s inverted thinking is that in spite of apartheid, life was safer and more orderly then. | DR DUNCAN DU BOIS Bluff
I see that French politician Jack Lang is the latest high-profile figure to be forced out of office, following others such as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Lord Peter Mandelson.
The former, brother of Britain’s King Charles, was stripped of his titles and public roles, while Lord Mandelson appointment’s by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as UK ambassador to the US triggered significant political backlash.
It is frustrating to see these consequences for some, while US President Donald Trump appears politically unscathed by the wider Epstein controversy. Why should others who were linked to, or associated, with Epstein, face reputational or professional fallout while he remains president, one of the most powerful nations in the world?
Given his global political influence, the question feels even more pressing, particularly as the Epstein case has been handled within the US legal system. The contrast raises difficult questions about accountability and consistency. | Anne Olver Cape Town
* He was know as Prince Andrew until King Charles, stripped his brother of all royal titles and honours because of links to Epstein.
** A controversial figure, he resigned in disgrace the Labour Party and the House of Lords, also because of ties to Epstein, who he and his ‘husband’ took money from in exchange for information. For now retains his baronetcy and title of Lord, as it requires an act of Parliament to remove it, though the government has signalled intent to pursue this. He is also the subject of a police probe into misconduct in public office.
It is often said that people who leave their original religion or homeland sometimes display resentment to it, as if to justify their departure. A similar pattern can be seen among political figures who rise to power after leaving the countries of their birth.
A good case in point is Marco Rubio. Once a refugee from Cuba he is now warlord-in-chief of the US military (he is even called Secretary of War), and shows a clear dislike for his Latin ancestry.
He basically just walked in and adult-napped President Maduro of Venezuela and now denies that, as a result of that brazen action, the US is at war with the Latin-American country. Regardless, he asserts that if any country dared try pull the same stunt with “his adopted country” by forcibly removing the head of the White House, it would definitely be an act of aggression and warrant a declaration of war.
Anyway, Senor Marco has now turned his attention to Iran, where maybe troops under his command will snatch another “Maduro-type-Khomeini” if these Persians do not play ball and reveal their secret cache of pistachios, almonds and uranium.
Rubio’s small stature and youthful appearance probably leads him to believe himself to be another “Baby Face Nelson”, one of the most infamous American gangsters of the Depression era, in the 1930s. His first name is similar sounding to Mario Puzo (creator of the Godfather mafia series). Perhaps it has all gone to his head.
After using kid gloves to help himself to pistachios from poor vendors in the market-place of Tehran, before using lead gloves to pick up the enriched U-235 supplies, I hope he doesn’t head home to his beloved America straight-away.
C’mon, Marco! How about heading further east, towards Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader of North Korea who has his own stash of homey-made missiles kitted out with that dirty N-stuff.
Kim’s beloved country also seems to need regime changes and a few pieces of democratic fixtures and fittings. Yes, Marco, here’s your big chance for genuine indestructible immortality. | Ebrahim Essa Durban
DAILY NEWS