William said: on 7 December 2007;
I moved into the marina in March this year and found my family sitting in the
In any conflict situation, there are two sides who are gnashing at other and over time good reason flies out of the window as both sides feel that the situation has gone on too long to forgive each other or change opinion without losing face.
As humans, we are in general hijacked by our egos and it takes a wise person to detach oneself from your pride and look at the situation afresh. Both sides of the conflict need to ask themselves: Am I really correct in saying that? Did I have the right to say that? Was I wrong to call her that? Did I take it the wrong way? Am I being petty? Have I looked at all the facts? Have I allowed all people concerned to voice their opinion? Did I listen properly and make an effort to understand? How would a wise person react if he/she were in my shoes right now? Am I allowing my ego to raise my voice or my intellect?
It seems to me that the
As a newcomer to the area, I am in the privileged position of not being emotionally tied up in it. I don’t have a history of frustrations that cloud my judgement. Here is my take on the situation:
- When you buy a house, there are two things that are most important;
- security and
- capital gain of your property.
Nothing should get in the way of these two paramount issues and everyone should club together to make sure that they are catered for.
- It should not matter if we have a Civic Association, or a Home Owners Association or whatever. What does matter is that we have some kind of association. An association is a wonderful way to pool our resources in terms of finance and brainpower (there are something like 1300 of us lurking in the
Marina swamp, that’s a lot of experts in their own fields, environmentalists, architects, lawyers, landscape artists and so on. Any Conflicts Revolutionists out there?). - It is important that that association is well led by wise, humble people that have the support of the majority. These leaders should NEVER let feelings of pride, or frustration, or anger, or stress cloud their judgement. If you step up to lead a group of people you better be sure that you have the right mindset for the job. If you are stepping up because you need a source of praise for giving to the community, then step down please. If you step up because you want power, then step down please. Like politics, you are a public servant, there to serve. Funny how politicians think politics is a source of power! They are public servants and it is the same with executive committees in associations.
- Having said that, we all need to keep in mind that the Excom are volunteers. They are not necessarily trained to do what they need to do (like conflict resolution). They may not have the personality to deal with objections. They are doing everything in their spare time. Give them a break. Give them support. Give them positive criticism with the goal of going forward.
- I do not believe that Excom have been gracious. I have seen many a rude word to ‘the objectors’ whereas I feel the objectors have been, well, objective in their arguments. I have not seen personal attacks from the objectors. But I have heard them called headless chickens. A leader cannot say something like that and expect to be respected. A leader should dissolve conflict, not aggravate it. Peter Harrison explained at the AGM that he was very stressed when he said that. The people that were called headless chickens needed an apology. That was not an apology, it was a reason. I feel that he would have had a lot more respect from both sides if he had apologized.
- Would the objectors forgiven him as wise people should? In any conflict situation, having the wisdom to forgive is imperative.
- And then that open letter to Anita gets printed on the front page of the marina newsletter. I have never in my life seen something so vindictive and destructive. Excom, how in heavens name did you allow that to be printed? Would you say a wise person would have let that be printed? Do you think that if Nelson Mandela, the Dahli Lama or Sister Theresa were members of Excom they would have printed that letter? That letter had absolutely no value to our situation, it aggravated the conflict and I personally (and therefore assume many others as well) lost a lot of respect to the Excom for allowing it to go through.
- Please, both sides, stop the verbal abuse. You must know that it simply does not help the situation.
- Declaration of war? War? When has war EVER solved a problem? Saying “I declare war!” is the same as saying, “I have failed to solve the problem.” I know you don’t mean actual guns and armies, but still, that comment is only going to aggravate the conflict. Remember good people, we have our personal security and property investment at stake here.
- A viper in our midst? Comments like these are not resolving the conflict. Period.
- The constitution. A constitution is a democratically created and democratically altered document. In other words, only when the required quorum is present can an issue be voted on. I have heard it said that changers to the constitution are made without a representative amount of people present to vote for it. Peter Harrison of Excom, is this true? If so, then you should not have allowed it to happen. It is plain and simple unlawful!
- But then, people of the Marina, how can you expect anything to move forward if you do not attend these meetings? How can you expect Peter and the Excom to get anything right if you do not come to the meetings and vote? If you object so forcefully about the constitution, then vote on it! Put your vote in. If you are right, then it is reasonable that many other people will think so too and your need will be come reality by way of majority vote.
- Splitting up into several associations is not the answer. Divide and you will be conquered. Unite and have strength in numbers. Cliché? Yes, but so true. It is much wiser to stick together so that when we need to tackle council issues or security costs, etc we have strength in numbers.
- Which brings me to the levies. Before we came to marina, we lived in a little townhouse complex. Our levies were R250 a month. A month! With this money we were able to improve and maintain our security and property investment. We put up electric fencing. We painted the whole complex. So simple. Nobody objected and I can assure you, the average salary of people in that complex would be less than the average salary of people in the Marina, no matter what area of the
Marina you live in. The people that lived there understood the importance of security and property investment. I know all this because I was on the executive committee of that Home Owners Association. - People of
Marina , a levy of R170 a year is the lowest levy that I have ever heard of. I understand that some of are in a situation where you are living above your means. Some of us are in the situation where your debts are high and there is little or no spare cash for extra levies. But a raise from R150 to R170 is surely not deserving of such objections. - If a monthly levy means that we can live in peace, then surely that is the most important thing for all of us? It takes one broken window pain and a family heirloom is gone forever. It takes one bullet and my 2 year old baby girl is dead. One knife thrust and my wife is dead. One gang beating and I am maimed for life. What on earth could be more important than making sure that we live in peace? If I did not have the cash to pay a monthly levy, but I knew that that monthly levy would protect my family, I would make a plan. I would get a second job or a Saturday job, I would stuff envelopes or work the till at the local Pick ‘n pay. I would consolidate my debt. I would work hard to bring people together so that living in peace becomes a reality in this crime stricken country. I would dissolve conflict instead of aggravating it. I would do something about it, like all winners do.
- And remember, monthly levies are voted upon. Not forced upon you. If the majority feel that we should pay monthly levies for security then you must have the grace to comply and the wherewithal to raise the money. This is your security and your investment. And the amount of the levy is also voted on of course.
- And those monthly levies should go into one account so that we can have one supplier and get discounts etc.
- Why should you feel that people on Excom are going to get rich doing the security scheme? We put it out to tender. The best and most cost effective proposal wins the account. There are performance clauses in the contract. If the supplier lets us down we have a contract that can be legally cancelled due to non deliverance. Safe and easy.
- I don’t know if ‘no subs, no vote’ is legal but if you do not pay your subs, why should you have the same rights as one who does? Stick together people. You are not being asked you to change your sex or religion so chill down. Take a step back. Concentrate on coming together for the good of all.
- The latest AGM had about 200 members there. The editor of www.marinadagamascurity.co.za said “I infiltrated and took as sneak peak at the
Marina Da Gama Association’s AGM last week…” What do you mean infiltrated? Surely everyone is openly welcome? Surely the AGM is the perfect opportunity to allow everyone the chance to bring issues to the fore, to vote on issues and so on. To say that you infiltrated the AGM sounds sneaky. I was really expecting to see people deal with all the frustrations that are in the air, yet people sat passively and I feel that Excom did their best to rush through the meeting and get it all over with. If the objectors are so upset with the way of things, then address it, please. And Excom, you are leaders. True leaders would diligently pursue the issues on hand to try and dissolve them, not gloss over them.
What to do
- I say we hold a meeting. In this meeting we have a conflict resolution panel. They will be impartial experts in conflict resolution and property law. They will not be residents of the Marina da Gama nor members of the
Marina Association nor the Excom. - As in a jury, the panel is not appointed by a single person, but voted in by the members of the association. We can put forward CVs of candidates for the panel and we can vote on who we think will do the job best for us.
- We pay them for their time. No volunteers. We want professional people. I would have no objection to directing funds in the association’s bank account to this event.
- In this meeting we solve once and for all:
- The issue of the legality of our constitution and if it is illegal then we form a new one right then and there. If it is legal, then we panel beat it until we are all (or at least the majority of us as decided in a vote) happy.
- This constitution will encompass everything. The levies, the security, everything in one clean, professionally mediated, voted upon document.
Let’s have this meeting where supporters, objectors and members of Excom and the panel sit in a circle, mixed together so that we dissolve the boundaries and let’s sort it out. If 1300 people turn up, then let’s have the circle several layers deep and every 15 minutes we can swap seats so that people at the back get a chance to sit in the front? Sounds cranky? I feel it would be a physical way of representing that we want to work together. These techniques are simple team building and conflict resolution exercisers and they work.
Your thoughts? Please add your comments.
10 users commented in " Voice of Reason "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI have mixed feelings on this letter. Mostly, I agree with it, although I do have some comments. In this comment, I will only concentrate on one aspect of your letter, but as security is the reason why this whole conflict started, I feel it is the most important one.
The security scheme as envisaged by the Association is, in my opinion, not only inadequate, but also seriously dangerous. It soothes people into a false sense of security, thereby allowing them to drop their guard and exposing them to danger.
Guards cannot always be trusted, and even if they are trustworthy, they are easily circumvented.
Questions
- Why, with so many South African citizens subscribing to some or other security firm, is our crime rate higher than it ever was?
- The Association wants R220.00 per month for security, not R170.00. Why should it cost more when all of us pay than when we pay for it in our own private schemes?
- The Association wants R60 000 a month for administration of this scheme. Do you still think that they will not want to make money out of it?
- Park Island Quays, a genuine ‘security complex.’ has and extremely high crime rate, one of the highest in the Marina. Surely this proves that guarding is not the solution?
I agree that, if the majority of the people want the security scheme, they should have it. It is clear that the majority do not see it as a solution. If the rest feel that the security scheme will work, let them pay for it voluntarily. Nobody is stopping them, but they should stop bullying their neighbours into joining. If their neighbours feel it is a waste of money, they should not be called names, ostracized or pressured. We should not be asked to take a second job to pay for something we do not believe in.
Lastly, this has very little to do with the levies ExCom wanted to ask. You got something for your levies - rates were paid, the building painted, public open spaces maintained etc. We don’t. We have to pay our own rates, paint our own buildings and, incidentally, look after our own safety. We have no common property and the parks etc. are looked after by Council. This has everything to do with property rights and the fact that we did not buy into a security village because we did not want to live in a security village.
Just to remind you that Peter Harrison is the puppet. There is a 3rd force behind this and controlling Harrison. I think he is too stupid to see that. I will see the the Parlement Chairman of Home Affairs just after the opening of Parlement in 2008 about Harrison. Harrison gets all emotional when he gets attacked in the media but when he attacks the objectors that is nothing. We must remember it is under his poor chairmanship that we are in this mess. Qually is also part of this mess. The Doc
William read the so-called Constitution. Excom can appoint an arbitrator. They will never do that because the so-called constitution is so outdated and not inline with the constitution of the country. The objectors are objecting to the way Excom went about in changing the so-called constitution. I suggest you write to Excom and asked them to appoint an arbitrator.
Dear William
I can only say: “If only.”
I am, and have always been, more than willing to sit and thrash this thing out. Alas we have not been able to achieve this.
The reason why most of the objectors do not speak up at (or even come to)the association’s AGM’s is because, on previous occasions, they were told to shut up and sit down etc. Why go to an AGM if you are not heard?
All things aside, Mr. Harrison does not even have to apologise to me personally. I hold no grudges and am still willing to talk.
Once again, it is quite bewildering to hear that people get told to “sit down and shut up.” Excom, did this happen? If so, this is not leadership. What is your side of the story?
Has it been proposed to Excom that we get an arbitrator in?
It is beginning to be clear to me that the problem is two fold:
1. Poeple do not like the way teh Excom seem to change the constitution at will. I am no property lawyer but I do know that any change to the constitution has to be voted on by a quorum at least and if changes have been made without the proper quorum present and without it being properly voted on then that change cannot be. The Excom cannot change things in the constitution at will no matter how much they try. So the sensible thing is to be there at the meetings and vote. They may be able to tell you to sit down and shut up but they can’t tell you not to vote. So attend the meetings and vote otherwise the AGm are made up of people who support the Excom. if you want your cause addressed, get your supporters together and go there and vote.
I need to re-emphasise that the Home Owners Association, the Constitution and the Excom are there for us and by us. If you want to see change, be there and vote on it rather than staying away and shouting from the side lines.
If the vote does not go your way, then you are in the minority. Make peace with it and keep in mind that pooling resources is better than splitting resources.
2. It seems people do not want to go into a type of group security scheme. This is a pity as we can do so much more as a group by pooling our financial resources. If Excom have a crazy idea of how this will work and the costs involved, why not look into it ourselves and work with them and see which security company can do better. it is not actually up to the Excom to do this. They can volunteer, like they do for everything else, but there is no harm in us all helping out. At least then you have a hand in organising this and the final outcome is influenced by you.
I agree that having a boom is not going to help as it focuses the gaurds there. A patrolling unit, one car and two bicycles per island, for example, is much better. A show of force on an unplanned route means the criminals cannot predict the patrol and plan their evenings ’shopping’.
I see that people have already spent money on their own systems but all systems can be bypassed. An armed unit on a random looping partrol is much better. Hell, if the government would listen I would have the army deployed on all our streets. Crime would stop instantly. Anyone wanna join me in lobbying the government for this? I am pretty sure that our infantry has little to do and our tax money is paying them to have little to do.
Doc, you mentioned a 3rd force behind the puppet Peter harrison. Interesting idea. What I have not understood yet is what this 3rd force stand to gain. Money? Excom don’t get paid for their time(I hope). maybe an underhanded consiracy to get their own security company in on the deal? Nepotism? Power? Over what and whom? This is a tiny little suburb on planet Earth. Why would anyone try to gain from it and what could they gain from it?
I respectfully request that you please avoid words like ’stupid’. Remember, every action that any of us take, objectors and supporters alike, should be constructive. If I was Peter harrison and I read that, I would not be inspired to change my ways or listen to you. So it has no value and makes no contribution to the solution.
If Peter harrison and Excom told people to shut up and sit down, I acknowledge, that is really bad. But don’t hit back or we will never know in the end who threw the first punch and we will contunue to point fingers.
Eerybody keep your side respectful and clean so that there are no judgements made based on revenge, hate etc.
Respect to Anita for her words above. I feel she is a good example to all that despite disagreements, we never need to pass personal insults.
Excom, how about some constructive discussion from you? This is an open forum. Voice your frustrations (kindly), make constructive criticisms (always) and let’s stop this controversy in it’s tracks.
It can be done!
If you read the page, the Viper in our Midst, you will see that the viper refers to the constitution. I agree wholeheartedly that it is a dangerous snake, waiting to strike.
There is a huge difference between a homeowners and a civic association. In a civic associaiton, you will not be able to rule in such a bully-style. People will resign.
What gives anyone the right to change the fundamental conditions on which I bought my home without my permission? Whether i have paid my subs or not, you do not have the right to make that decission. If you are deciding on when to have meetings, grass verges etc. yeah, I won’t have the right to vote if I had not paid, but not on fundamental issues such as implementing a sectional-title scheme when I bought my home freehold. Eventually everyone will have to pay in any event, even if it is only when you sell your property, so, yes, if people are going to be materially effected by the decision, everyone should have a vote, (even long-term tenants.)
As for the conflict resolution idea, great idea, if totally impractical. 1300 households, 1300 different opinions.
Dear William
Just to clarify some matter I have to say the following:
You clearly have not read your constitution. 60 people (out of a possible 1300) represent a quorum. It has been one of the major objections in this matter and is one of the reasons why I call this constitution a “viper in our midst” and unconstitutional.
ExCom are mostly co-opted and not voted in. I did not see any members of ExCom being voted in at the AGM.
An ExCom member was earmarked for the Security Manager’s job of R20 000.00 per month (for what will effectively be a half-day job). She was to have an assistant at R10 000.00 per month. Debt collecting was going to be done by an ExCom member’s company. Do you want more?
The Association’s AGM’s are private and only members and their spouces (or guests) are allowed to attend. I do not consider myself a member of this Association, so, yes, I did infiltrate the meeting.
In all fairness to Peter Harrison, it was not he who told the members to shut up and sit down, it was members who shouted at other members. Peter merely allowed it to happen.
Hi William.
Carefull Bud, pretty soon you will be co-opted onto excom. It has long been roumoured that you will then be asked to do the chicken-dance and swear an oath of secrecy. We’ll miss your input. It’s a wonder Anita has not been co-opted yet.
I live in Eastlake Island, and way back, before this association started interfering with the security, there was a dedicated security vehicle in the Marina and patrols were done regularly. Then talk started of a Marina-wide security scheme, and the Chub vehicle was all of a sudden shared with other vehicles.
I still pay Chub for monitoring and armed response, and I believe so does about 600 other households in Marina Da Gama.
Now that we have a “security scheme” in Park Island, run by Southern Security, we never see the Chub vehicle in this part of the woods. They are always in Cannon Island Way and Battleridge Road.
With in the region of 600 members in Marina Da Gama, Chub should have a dedicated patrol car for Marina Da Gama. Quite frankly, I am thinking of boycotting Chub. Why am I paying them if they are not even prepared to patrol my area?
SC
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