Ons erfenis
Die afgelope twee weke het vier leerders van die Oudtshoorn Hoërskool met my onderhoude gevoer oor die Groepsgebiedewet van 1950 en hoe die gedwonge verskuiwings my en my familie geraak het. Met erfenisdag oor ’n paar dae, het dit my beweeg om my kleinkinders te neem en hulle sit te maak onder die peperboom te Randstraat 49 (waar die toetstasie vandag is) en die storie van my kinderdae te vertel op dieselfde plek waar my naelstring op 3 Oktober 1946 begrawe is.
Daar is baie meer te vertel, maar omdat hulle besig is met studie vir die eksamen, het ek net die volgende met hulle gedeel:
Die eenvoudige twee, drie en vier vertrekke wat ons ouers van die Dysselbroers gehuur het; die gange tussen die huise; die koop van ’n bakkie waatlemoene deur ons buurman Rassie Erasmus; die gemeenskaplike krane en toilette; die karakters Piet de Jaar en Ou Tietie wat ’n leë toilet omskep het in ’n woonstelletjie vir hulle; die klippe waarop die wasgoed gebleik het.
Die winkeltjie van Abe Kappies se ma met die stoep waarop ons gesit het wanneer daar krieket en rugby op die vlakkie gespeel is; die vlakkie waar die sirkus gestaan het en die olifante wat in die straat vanaf die stasie gestap het; die washuis, melkhuisie en slaghuis waar daar soggens vieruur al lewe was; die kafee by die blou deure met die jukebox waarin ons geld gegooi het om songs te luister; die gejaag van vangwaens Vry-dagaande en die hardloop van polisie agter verdagtes aan; die manne op die dobbelpoel wat gewoonlik geëindig het in ’n bakleiery; die uitdra van matrasse op someraande en slaap op die stoep; die hoë kiesieblare.
Die speel van drie-blik in die straat; oom Kallie Louw wat ons hare met sy stomp masjientjie gesny het en die trek van ons hare; die geluid wanneer oom Kallie sy skêr met ’n piering skerp gemaak het; die liefde en omgee wat daar tussen ons almal (wit, swart en bruin) was.
Alhoewel die wrede Groepsgebiedewet ons uit Randstraat geneem het, is Randstraat nooit uit ons geneem nie!
– Japie Coetzee
Opregte dank aan hospitaal
Ek wil my opregte dank uitspreek teenoor die Oudtshoorn Hospitaal en in besonder die ongevalle-afdeling.
Op Donderdag 7 September 2017 het my lewe handomkeer verander. Onwetend dat ek ’n hartaanval gehad het, het ek met die ambulans daar aangekom. Die toegewydheid en passie wat die noodpersoneel openbaar het ten op sigte van hul werk, het my lewe gered.
Hiermee wil ek my op regte dank en waardering uitspreek teenoor drs Harmse en Smit – internis, en ook in besonder teenoor mnr Fourie van die ongevalle-afdeling. God seën u.
– John Abrahams, Oudtshoorn
Committee was functional
The article which appeared in your newspaper of 7 September 2017 regarding the new audit committee is a cause for concern.
The Oudtshoorn Audit Committee of which I was a member for two terms of three years each plus an extension of one year and which ended in June 2017 has been in existence and functional for most of that time as the minutes of the meetings held will reveal. There was a short period when no meetings were held due to not enough members to form a quorum (minimum three members).
Granted, we did not have the full support of management, especially during the period 2014 to 2016, but we still did our job of asking questions, seeking verifications and making suggestions and recommendations to council. We did not stop functioning, the council of the day did, as a lot of what we did was never attended to due the inadequacy of that council.
It must also be remembered that audit committee members spend a lot of time preparing for their meetings.
Although councillors are welcome to attend audit committee meetings in an observing capacity only, this is only now happening since the existing council has come about.
All of our work has been minuted and items not attended to have remained on the agendas which hopefully assisted the forensic auditors in their investigations into Oudtshoorn’s problems. Regular meetings were also held with representatives of the Auditor General and informal meetings with members of management.
To state that the new council is responsible for the new committee is not entirely true as the two male members of the “new” committee are in their second term having been part of the previous committee since 2013. The ladies are replacing another colleague and myself who have completed two terms (the maximum allowed for) and a vacancy due to an earlier resignation.
It took the sitting council and management a long time to find suitable replacements in which we also tried to help.
To insinuate that the previous audit committees were dysfunctional is incorrect and unacceptable especially when one bears in mind that committee members are volunteers who give up their time to serve the community.
I hope the foregoing will be of assistance and informative to your readers.
– Brian Spenceley, Oudtshoorn
(Thanks for the feed-back and information, Mr Spenceley. The article referred to never tried to “insinuate” that the members of the audit committee did not do their work under the previous council and never used the word “dysfunctional”. We have a high regard for the work done by residents in the committee and want to thank you for that.
We would say a “functional” audit committee refers to a committee with enough members to form a quorum, which can meet regularly, does its work efficiently and has the support of municipal management and council.
– Liesel le Roux, Editor)
