Pick PMB (picpmb.co.za) - Blog 001
What I would do to fix PMB is I was running the city

  1. Pay the cleaners who clean up Boshoff Street a bonus - they do a reasonable job and deserve one.
  2. Enforce the laws governing littering and dumping in a ruthless manner.
  3. Enforce the laws governing the use of public places (that includes the roads), in a ruthless manner.
  4. Privatize the maintenance of the public areas in the city. This would include cleaning, grass cutting and other forms maintenance. It would also provide a ideal black economic (BEE etc.) empowerment opportunity and contribute to reducing unemployment. I see it work in the plantations that surround much of the city, it can also work in the city.

If we get that right (primarily enforcing the law), the rest will follow. Who knows, the rest of South Africa may also notice, and then clean up its act as well.

In the mean time, I will maintain a PICPMB blog and photographic record of what it is that currently bothers me about Pietermaritzburg. When any of these things are fixed, I would hope that I will be first to acknowledge that. And to be fair, I will also reflect what else I notice that is a positive improvement. As I have already said, the Boshoff Street cleaners do a reasonable job.

If you would like to participate, send me your photographs and storey.

Robert Dempster E-mail address [email protected]