Letters to the press

To ensure that the newspapers of the day reflect the diversity of views that accurately characterise the cosmopolitan nature of modern Johannesburg, the Democratic Alliance in Johannesburg, through its public representatives, is a prolific correspondent, featuring prominently and often in the opinion and letters pages of the daily media. This page carries a list of letters written and published that conveys the attitudes and ideals of the DA and it Councillors in the city.

"It was with a mixture of surprise and incredulity that I read Lee Cahill’s response to the City of Johannesburg Billing crisis in yesterday’s Star. She expressed disappointment with the ANC led Johannesburg City Council’s response to the crisis and also unhappiness at the Opposition, as they should have done more." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Far from being an “unscientific and biased analysis” (The Star, 3 February) as claimed by mayor Amos Masondo and his spin doctors, the Democratic Alliance’s 9th annual scorecard of Johannesburg’s political and administrative leadership is based on facts and figures supplied by the ruling party itself. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"In his analysis of the reasons why he believes the ANC will retain power in the country’s major metros (The ideological hangover, The Star, 7 February), it is unfortunate that Moshoeshoe Monare chooses to perpetuate myths about the DA that enable this one party domination to continue in the face of rampant maladministration, mismanagement, corruption and a litany of broken promises." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Strike Ralegoma’s disdainful defence of Johannesburg’s rulers (Star Letters, 1 February) demonstrates clearly how little the ANC actually cares for the thousands of people whose hard earned money pays for the upkeep of this city and the services the ruling party is supposed to deliver." <click here to read more>

"Your editorial (Joburg’s déjà vu, The Star, 18 January) is a clarion call to voters of this crumbling metropolis not to accept the disdainful disregard of the ruling party and its deployed cadres who are living high on the hog off the rates and taxes paid by Johannesburg’s beleaguered residents. The reality is that, come May, people do not have to accept politicians who promise much but deliver little." <click here to read more>

"I am responding to Mondli Makhanya’s article “One thing is certain; politics will always be a grubby business” (Sunday Times 9January, 2011)I confine myself to the subject of the lack of “melanin content” in the ranks of the higher leadership of the DA which is indeed a cause for concern; not only for commentators like Mondli Makhanya and others, but also for many thinking people in all walks of life." <click here to read more>

"As a born and bred Capetonian but a proud Gauteng resident for the last 25 years, let me assure Stanley Letsoko (Letters, 5 January) that the attitude of Western Cape residents has nothing to do with volkstaats, laagers or any other political ideology but rather lies in the inherent civic pride of its inhabitants." <click here to read more>

"Thursday, 9 December 2010 was a bumper day for the ANC rejecting pefectly good ideas to make the City of Joburg run more efficiently. First the ANC rejected my colleagues' motion on a debate on Joburg billing, and then they rejected my idea on establishing sports academies across Joburg. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"2010 has had its ups and downs. On the one hand we managed to pull off a successful Soccer World Cup and we were able to promote Joburg to the rest of the World. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"In her defence of the indefensible, namely the downward trajectory of Johannesburg under Mayor Masondo and his incompetent administration, Cllr Ros Greeff uses the Moody’s “stable rating” for Johannesburg to illustrate her argument that the city is in good shape." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The article on the R100 million contract awarded by Pikitup, in the Star of 29 November 2010, refers. The Democratic Alliance in Johannesburg is not surprised but is very disappointed at the continued lack of transparency and disdain for procedures in the awarding of this contract between Pikitup and Sula Smart Supply Services."<CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"It is unfortunate that Abbey Makoe chooses to illustrate his article on racial discrimination (The Star, 2 December) by quoting the example of slavery and how cruelly black people were uprooted to “work in white people’s plantations”<CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The reason for crippled services in municipalities and provinces is not internal struggles for positions within the ANC as suggested by KZN Premier Zweli Mkhize (The Times, 3 December) but rather the ANC’s failed policy of cadre deployment that results in little more than nepotism, cronyism and corruption. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Can I ask why Clr Ros Greeff was silent two months ago when the ANC regional executive was attacking the Mayor she is now so nobly defending (Mayor's exemplary record ignored, Star, 1 December 2010)? " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The article on JRA's turnaround strategy for potholes on Tuesday, 23 November 2010 refers. A resident reported that there is a massive pothole at the intersection of Mooi street and Wemmer Jubilee just as one comes off the M2 highway to come into town. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"We, the Ward Committee of Ward 98, would be negligent if we do not ask you to urgently intervene, and take the lead role, in resolving the chaos within the Johannesburg City Council’s billing system." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"It is impossible not to notice the mega structure that is going up on Oxford and Bolton Roads (and 3 other corners of other roads) in Rosebank, Johannesburg. It is a WBHO construction for a Standard Bank project. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Johannesburg Metro Police Department Chief Chris Ngcobo seems genuinely surprised at his unit being voted the most corrupt officers in the Country. Unfortunately I do not share the same dismay as he does." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"So Wayne Minnaar doesn't believe the results of the LeadSA survey on bribery of the traffic police. I can't believe it either but probably not for the same reasons. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Your publication of the JMPD Monitor has given me much material to work from in my oversight role as a Section 79 Safety Committee member in the City of Johannesburg. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The article on the front page of the Star regarding illegal parking by ANC officials (Star, 9 November 2010,) refers. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

" I want to congratulate those inconsiderate ANC people who parked illegally in the photos the Star published on Tuesday. I want to say well done to them for making Joburgers look like bigger jerks than they already have been made out to be. "<CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Congratulations to Geraldine Pillay on her election as the chairperson of athletes on the board of Athletics South Africa. "<CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"South Africa is too fat! Okay so Joburg falls behind Cape Town and Durban in terms of the number of fatties, but 59% is still a big (fat) number and it isn't all glandular problems." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Somewhere I read that SA is the biggest welfare state in the world. No! That can't be true. Can it? What is true is that we have 5.5 million tax payers supporting over 13 Million welfare recipients. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"A constituent rang me to ask for help with the police the other day. The person had a problem with a noisy neighbour, and despite repeated efforts with JMPD, they got nowhere. They then went to the nearest SAPS office and still didn't get any help. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"I want to offer my sympathies and encouragement to the Insider in their battle with the City of Joburg's billing system. Welcome to the club! " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"I don't know about anybody else, but I am rather tired of the National department of Local Government whining about how municipalities owe billions to the government owned entities. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"I am afraid that the mayoral committee and senior officials in the City of Joburg need psychiatric help. They are clearly delusional. Either that or they are smoking their socks over at Luthuli House! " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Clr Billy Madungandaba took great pains to say that I was guilty of slander, all the while slandering me, but that's not the point. I question the methodology of the survey that said Joburgers were satisfied with the services that they have been receiving from the ANC led City." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Rea Vaya is in the news again, but this time because of problems around The Metro Trading Company (MTC) under the control of the Economic Development cluster. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Despite 16 years of democratic rule, people in Alexandra continue to live in abhorrent and unsanitary conditions. Every inch of space is utilised for shelter, so shacks abut each other to the extent that there is no space between them. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Judging by reports emanating from the ruling party’s recent NGC in Durban, it is clear that not only is South Africa jumping to the left in socio-economic terms, but we are heading towards the utopian socialist state reminiscent of newly-independent African states in the 1960s and 1970s. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Once again, it is the poor, the sick and the innocent who are paying the price for internal struggles for supremacy in the tri-partite alliance and the litany of broken promises and heightened expectations created by the Zuma administration. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"I am absolutely appalled at M-net for failing women across the country with their pathetic response to the physical abuse in the Big Brother House. What's it going to take for them to view this assault in the very serious light that it is?" <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The taxi’s driving and parking illegally through Windsor East and West remain a problem in spite of all my efforts to have the problem addressed by the JMPD and their spokesperson commenting in the Sun that the taxi’s are there illegally. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"My City of Johannesburg is a dangerous city. I am not talking about crime, but rather about the manholes that do not have lids, the many potholes on our streets, and dysfunctional fire hydrants. " <CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE>

"On Saturday, 14 August, the DA Soweto East Constituency went on a walkabout in parts of Soweto and Meadowlands Zone 11. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The Madam & Eve cartoon in the Star of 22 July 2010 was both ironic and hilarious. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

" The proposed teacher's strike is so unnecessary. If the ANC led government bothered to keep track of decent, dedicated teachers and paid them what they were worth, I doubt that they would jeopardize Matric exams like this. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The City of Joburg had better decide if road safety should be sacrificed to save money. What am I talking about? The road markings that are painted on our roads with such cheap paint they are gone within three months! " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"To use a nice Afrikaans expression about the story of illegal organ harvesting in our sister municipality: "Dit laat my grill!" <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

" JMPD shouldn't just stop at impounding parked cars, there are currently a few moving violations on our roads too that need desperate impounding. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"My goodness, even the Johannesburg Roads Agency are getting in on the act of decorating Joburg for the World Cup. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"It appears that drunk drivers are getting away with murder. 8 years to process their blood samples! And even then we can't be sure of the accuracy because the sample might be corrupted." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"I read your article “Tackling begging during the World Cup” (Business Day, 31 May 2010) and wish to comment . Virgil James is mistaken. There is a by-law that prohibits begging. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Professor Andre Venter of the University of the Free State believes that there is a "tsunami" of HIV scholars coming to public schools in the future. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Gershwin Chuenyane's story about the textbook deadline in the City Press of 30 May 2010, refers. I have to ask: Does the government want our children to be educated?" <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Joburg Water has assured foreigners that the City's water is safe to drink. I should hope so since I've been drinking out of the tap recently and would hate to get sick!" <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"World No-Tobacco Day is the 31st of May every year. This year's anniversary has a sense of urgency about it because instead of declining, it appears that smoking is increasing, especially amongst children. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"I'm impressed that there's an extra 440 JMPD officers on the streets in time for the World Cup. It's about time." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Liberal democrats such as myself espouse a view that there should be a definite separation between political parties and the State. The ANC, on the other hand, have blurred this separation between party and State to the extent that there is uncertainty as to whether decisions of Government are truly independent decisions or in fact are handed down by Luthuli house." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Ja! Lekker! Good for those women JMPD officers who bust that Bolshy taxi driver! This is Joburg. The Big City!" <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"South Africa is really stuck between a rock and a hard place. StatsSA recently released a report that showed that in some places in SA over 40% of kids dropped out of school because they could not afford the fees. This is a death spiral. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The electricity infrastructure in the South of Joburg is creaking. On Tuesday, 18 May 2010, there was a 17 hour blackout in the Mulbarton area. Residents phoned me, very peeved because they could not get hold of anyone at Joburg Connect that could give them some answers. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"I was quite upset to read about the fake cops who made Bongani's life miserable in the Daily Sun of 25 May 2010. I don't think many people know, but members of the public are entitled to see the police identification of anyone claiming to be a police officer." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The article about the Blue Bulls game in the Citizen of 24 May 2010 refers. The sub-headline claimed the preparation for the game was flawless. I hate to disagree but it was only almost flawless. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"I am hoping that this letter will shame an MEC. Since January (and we are practically half-way through the year,) I have been writing to him on a weekly basis to get the Provincial roads in my Ward in the South of Joburg maintained. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"There's a saying in English - never speak ill of the dead. I've always wondered why we must save our pretty words for when someone has passed on. Why don't we say the good things when they are alive and able to hear them?" <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The Radio 702 story about women who rent out their babies just goes to highlight the vicious poverty circle that exists in our city. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The article about the state of education in South Africa in the City Press of 16 May 2010 refers. It is a travesty that the education has been allowed to slide in this way and that nothing is done to rescue it. I would ask that no one tries and sells me on the merits of Outcome Based Education (OBE.) As the last set of Matric results show, this system isn't going to pull us out of the dive any faster. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Rocks being thrown from the highways isn't really my province, but I feel I should say something anyway. As a new dad, I would hate to be a victim of a rock thrower. And considering the speeds we travel at on our highways I am afraid that it is only a matter of time until someone is killed." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Her Majesty, the Queen needs to revoke Kevin Pietersen's UK citizenship right away. He needs to come home to rescue SA cricket from the doldrums!" <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"So many of the stories about the SAPS tend to be very negative. We always remember the times that they arrived late or didn't pitch at all at a crime scene. We always complain when they don't appear to do enough with the information about drugs and prostitution that people give them." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"This is a heartfelt plea to SA Cricket Captain, Graeme Smith - please step down and let someone else have a go. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The article about the sudden resignation of the DA Joburg Caucus leader ( Rapport, 9 May 2010,) refers." < CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The Deputy Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs recently said that those who devised the models for the structure and functioning of local government did not foresee the extent to which municipalities would become the “soft underbelly of patronage and corruption in our country”." < CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Please can Jacob Zuma appoint a woman to be the minister of health, because I doubt a woman would be so 'dof" to recommend banning baby bottle formula. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

" The International Labor Organization and Unicef rightly called on South Africa to fight child labor in the country. Over 200 million children worldwide go to work instead of school." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Mark this day on your calendar. The department of education is the first department, and will be closely followed by the others to again shift ANC deadlines because they fail to deliver on promises. 2014 is no longer the year of victory." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"I would like to sympathise with Beauregard Tromp. It must have been intensely frightening experience, made more extreme by the entrapment one must feel being stuck in traffic (Star, 12 May 2010.)" <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"I've got a new dam in my ward, in Kibler Plots. It's supposed to be a road, Paul road, is even marked as such on the map, but I'm pretty sure, looking at the photos it's really a dam. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Who's going to send the previous education ministers to the principal's office for failing to do their homework regarding absenteeism? We need a firm approach to dealing with these issues at schools. Give competent Principals the power to deal effectively with truancy and ill discipline" <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"It's my turn to complain about potholes, lack of robots and road markings that don't last six months. I take care of the Rabie Ridge and Ivory Park areas in Midrand. The ANC sure doesn't. I have been trying to get them to do something about Freedom Drive which is very bad..." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"If some faceless, cowardly individuals think they will derail the BRT transport system by shooting innocent passengers, they have another think coming... " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The seemingly unrelated attacks on various farmers and baby Marzaan Kruger do in fact have a link. They both show that people should be careful of who they hire..." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"I was outraged at the treatment your female reporter received as reported in the Sowetan of 3 May 2010. Some of my sports mad colleagues said what else can you expect from Orlando Pirates..." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Not to be crude but Joburg is swimming in pooh! My colleague Ralf Bittkau and I recorded the reported sewerage spills into the Jukskei river - the water that flows past parts of Alex..." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The story about the poor sewerage system across the country worries me. It worries me because it did not have to get to the point that sewerage systems are failing... " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"I am ashamed, truly, to be a Jozi resident. I am ashamed that my neighbours place their health and that of their families in jeopardy by simply chucking rubbish in the streets without even the common decency to put the rubbish into packets or bags." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The Minister of Human Settlements is right to hail his Special Investigation Unit on their success. It is spectacular. So spectacular that I would like to see these be extended into provincial and local levels." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"It is now more than a week (since) SAMWU engaged in a labour dispute. The Democratic Alliance supports workers who embark on legal (strikes) and we sympathize with them, as downing tools is sometimes the only weapon workers can use in convincing their respective employers (to meet) their demands." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"A marketing research company released their results on Friday last week. Their findings were frightening." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Complaints about the mess caused by striking SAMWU workers and the inability for SAMWU to control striking workers had been exacerbated by Sunday’s rain. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Metro Bus is still recovering from last year’s Metro Bus strike (27 April 2009 – 27 May 2009), the city had agreed to the demands in the spirit of good and here the city is again faced with unruly behavior of bus operators." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Johannesburg Property Company needs to do more than try to help the victims of a fraudster in Power Park in Joburg. " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"I cannot believe that Clr Parks Tau could fudge the facts about the Billing System like that (Ratepayers to cover cost of 'mistakes' in choice of contractor, Business Day, 16 April 2010)." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"I’ve had a look through my ward at all the water leaks in the lanes. We have to start naming these rivers running in the lanes as they cannot go unnoticed." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Julius Malema is the name on many people’s lips for the right or wrong reasons. Either way, love him or hate him, you need to understand the benefits of having someone like Julius Malema on the political stage at this moment in time." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Malema must be in a pickle at the moment. He has a major dilemma: his prophetic singing has had a reaction that I am sure he wanted but unfortunately for him it has marred another headline he tried so eagerly to create:(Sunday Times 4/4/2010..." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"In suggesting that Helen Zille is “challenged by the truth” by reporting that the DA run Western Cape has allocated 30% of its budget to education, Max Ozinsky (Star Letters, 2 March) takes the Premier completely out of context in a disingenuous attempt to portray her as untruthful..." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Hot on the heels of the ANC, Jovial Rantao is quick off the mark to criticise the DA-led Cape Town City Council for not providing an enclosure for an open toilet in an informal settlement (The Star, 22 January) and advocates reporting the City to the Human Rights Commission (HRC) for this infringement of a person’s right to dignity. However, the truth of this matter lies more in what is not reported..." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"The latest round of finger pointing resulting from the poor matric pass rate by the Minister of Basic Education at teachers is symptomatic of the lack of leadership and the absence of any accountability whatsoever by our government and its Ministers. Whatever happened to “the buck stops here”?..." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"In his opinion that a “black official opposition party” is needed in South Africa, Saber Jazbhay (The Star, Letters, 11 January) makes the fatal mistake of falling into the Verwoerdian mindset of race-based theories. As a proud DA member and one committed to the principle of non-racialism, how different are my hopes to that of my fellow citizens regarding employment, health, education and safety and security for my future and the well-being of my family? Not very different at all..." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Michael Mokoana’s accusation (Letters, 14 December) that employers of indulging in “criminal activities” when working within the regulatory regime of the industry SETAs introduced by government and his apportioning blame for the skills shortage on the undermining activities of business generally cannot go unchallenged..." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"That the Mayor of Johannesburg Amos Masondo and the city council’s Chief Whip Nonceba Molwele were quick to blame the recent unrest in Orange Farm and Thembalihle on unscrupulous elements within the ANC who want leadership positions because of their vested narrow interests without even seeing for themselves what the problems are, shows how out of touch they are with the people who put them in power..." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"Recent sporadic incidents of service delivery protests, most notably in Orange Farm, paint a worrying picture of the desperate situation faced by the poor who have grown tired of the empty promises made by opportunistic politicians as they weave their way in and out of the townships in their luxury sedans accompanied by the blue light brigades..." <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

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