Continued silence about Grootfontein

UWE RATHMANN WRITES FROM GROOTFONTEIN:

Honourable Minister E. Uutoni, on your MURD website exists a public service charter, which promises acknowledgement of receipt of public letters in three days.

I wrote 18 official complaints/advice/reports also to the investigation team of MURD over the last two decades. These remain unacknowledged and not answered until now.

MURD forwarded these complaints as "copies" to Grootfontein Municipality as referrals to the concerned institution. Again, no official response was received from these referrals.

It is proven through own experience, media reports, civil society organization's findings and the Grootfontein Town Council itself that the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development as custodian of Local Authorities remains non-responsive to official queries and do not impose remedial actions.

Honourable Minister, you deliberately ignore the Grootfontein Town Council's cries, where senior officials and general staff are accused of corruption, maladministration and insubordination. Legal Advice by Kangueehi & Kavendji Incorporated should be implemented without fear or favour.

These are typical results at a public institution without a functional public service charter and institutions will ultimately collapse if speedy remedies aren’t implemented.

Honourable Minister, your non-responsiveness is an Achilles heel for Grootfontein Town Council. Examples like the failure to provide public documents in the form of minutes of council meetings and the unimplemented legal advice mentioned creates a public image of you as a protector of corruption and accused officials. Honourable Minister, roll the ball while it’s still in your hand, turn around the fortunes of Grootfontein Municipality and Town Council to the benefit of residents and development.