More comments by residents:

CDC: writes
THIS ARGUMENT IS NOT ABOUT SECURITY IT IS ABOUT PROPERTY RIGHTS.
I would beseech all the home owners within the Marina to avail themselves of the harsh reality of this proposal from the Association. It means riding roughshod over accepted property ownership norms. It means changing your home ownership to one of a defacto sectional title property where someone else will determine how much you spend on security and other things without your having reasonable recourse should you think that what you are getting isn’t worth it.

It will mean that if and when you sell your property the potential buyers will have to offer you less money because they will need to budget for the proposed levies which even now are ill defined and bound to increase. It in effect means that you will be giving up your right to determine how you spend your money and even how much of it you spend. There is a very simply way for those who wish to live in a security complex environment to do so, MOVE. This is not a sectional title development, it never pretended to be one.

We don’t have a body corporate and we don’t have endlessly increasing levies but if that is what you want there are numerous such developments around Cape Town for you to choose from. If some prefer to “shoot the messenger” which has regrettably been the case at several meetings then that is a great pity but the truth is that the proposal on security is ill conceived and quite possibly unlawful, it is being forced upon a good number of unwilling home owners who are being painted as “detractors and non payers” which is not the case. The so called “detractors” merely wish to protect their constitutional rights to owning Freehold property in line with their legal commitments when they purchased those properties. I can’t see that there is anything unreasonable in that. All the obfuscations, talk of security, slander, window dressing and sales pitches are not going to change the reality, this is an attack on your property ownership rights, and don’t make any mistake about it.

Marina resident writes:

Only in South Africa can you have can you have an executive committee of a
home-owners’ association who try so hard to convince us that a decision
taken by 30% of the membership can be valid if 20% of that membership is
not notified and about 50% could not vote because they have not paid their
subs! This, despite the fact that the so-called “security plan” they want
to impose is a complete scam. I mean, R60,000.00 per month for
administration costs? Outrageous!!And then they have the audacity to say that the constitution is
“democratic” when a decision taken by 40 people can be binding on about 1
300 households.To top it all, at meetings objectors we were told to “shut up and sit
down” by proponents of the scheme, and then our illustrious Councillor Mr.
Demetri Qually proclaims the meeting to be “a good example of transparency
and open debate with a clear democratic outcome.” Viva democracy and the
devil take us all!!It’s no wonder that

Harrisonsays, in his latest propaganda pamphlet that
“Talk of a ‘Public Participation Process’ is misplaced … there is no
‘public’ to be consulted” and “There will be no referendum, and we don’t
need any further interference from Council in our internal affairs.” I
mean, why should they consult us? We are merely the poor buggers who will
have to foot the bill.Newsflash!! We don’t live in the Dark Ages. The Excom think they are a
law unto themselves. Boy, oh boy, you don’t dare say anything which may
be against the Association. In real Mugabe style, you will be ridiculed,
threatened, bullied and ousted. Objections are proclaimed a “worthless
charade devised by misguided people, intent only on mischievously
obstructing the democratic process” or “our lawyers will write to the
complainants should they repeat these allegations against either the
association or the individuals concerned, to warn them of the legal
sanctions they face.” We are even told to put pressure on our neighbors.
Well, bring on those letters, Mr. Chairman! I’m only quoting you, (and
it’s no wonder Mugabe hates the Brits if they treated him like you treat
us.)While we are at it… which Excom member said “We want to run this
association professionally, and we do not want to be tied hand and foot
and be obliged to answer to the members at every turn. We want carte
blanche to do as we see fit. That is the beginning and the end of the
matter.” and “We are banking in the hope that no-one objects enough to go
that expensive legal route (High Court action), so we will take our
chances on the general lack of interest amongst the residents of the
Marina and if we win we win and if de don’t win, so what, it has not been
our money that will have been wasted.”? Was this Mario Rosingana or Alan
Hepple? Or was it Peter Harrison himself? No, I am not thumb-sucking
this, it’s a matter of public record. Oh yeah, I forgot – Excom does not
believe in “public” opinion or participation. Pardon me.It’s time to take a little look at yourself, Mr. Chairman, and re-evaluate
your stance. I heard that you used to be “quite a nice guy”. What
happened to you? Has the little bit of power of being the “CHAIRMAN” of a
stupid little home-owners’ association gone to your head? So by the way,
is it true that your car was stolen the other day despite the so-called
“security” system in your area?The frustrations are building, and the association’s executive committee
has to stop being so arrogant and self-righteous. Wasn’t the recent
murder in the area enough for you to catch a wakeup? As far as I heard,
it was linked to security scheme because of frustration levels when a war
started because residents hooted to get the attention of the guard on
duty. What else has to happen before you wake up and smell the coffee?
Why don’t you just leave us alone so that we can do our own thing. We
don’t need to be forced into submission by a bunch of yahoos who think
they are above the law. To put it politely – go away.