SA closed- back at just after 2

first posted Friday, January 25, 2008

TWIR's reference to 'struggling for some days with the eccentric opening hours of South Africa's public services' may puzzle some. I'm of the firm belief that we could have won the Anglo Boer and Anglo Zulu Wars sooner (if, in deed we did win - discuss?) if we had have attacked at lunchtime.
The local post office in Greyton shares premises currently with the Municipality administration. There appears to be only one member of staff - a bored Afrikaans lady. Her hours of work are 'wait for it': 12 noon to 3 p.m. with an hour for lunch. Although I have never seen her eat her lunch, nor have anywhere to go, other than sit at the other chair; give up hope of collecting the registered letter or buying stamps. Oh! and take along some ID. I didn't. And put in 3 trips and 30 or 40 carbon miles collecting my repaired spectacles. Stress?
The Office of Home Affairs is, how can I put this without hopefully being deported, a bureaucratic nightmare. The red tape and idiotic forms I can sort of live with, and the blu-tacked posters of Mbeki and pals and handwritten 'Our President'  labels BUT. Last week we attempted (again) to extend our visitors permit. 50 minutes into the interview, the bureaucrat, unannounced, stood up and strode off to the 'rest area' carrying some of Dion's excellent fish and chips in a Styrofoam box and balancing a tinnie of coke atop, whilst gripping a copy of the SA equivalent of Hello magazine under her chin. It was lunch time. We have not been back. Our permit expired yesterday but I note that the form says that we can stay as long as we have applied to stay, 30 days before expiry... which we did. The form is silent on the need to have the application granted. Looks like we won't be deported afterall. The question is do we go back to the OHA?
Oh .. and ... the pie shop across the road (what's this other SA obsession?- calling shops Pie Land or Mr Pie? Mr Exhaust... Bead Land... Irrigation Land.....Mr Safety Film) was also closed until 2.
I've had a bad week. Forgive me.

From Western Cumbria to Western Cape Feb 2008 letter 1

first published Monday, February 18, 2008

We are 4 months in to our first 6 months posting to Dwarskloof Farm.

Dwars is an Afrikaans word meaning 'across'or 'challenge'. It certainly has been a challenge. First the lack of electricians then the floods then the worms then the power cuts then the power surge then the visitors then the crickets then the post office then the insurance claim then the gates then the cv joints on the car and …new tyres… It goes on and on .. it's a relentless challenge. Dwarskloof literally means 'across a ravine'.

We seem to cross the ravine every day. Just posting a letter can be stressful. The post office closed with the demise of the petrol station in November. The petrol station (state of the science new pumps no less) was due to open again in January BUT 'they had the wrong sort of electricity' so it remains fenced off (Feb 2008). Post Office has moved to Municipality buildings but has to be manned (personed?) by a duly authorised post office official from Caledon (22kms distant). Post office hours are 12 noon to 3pm with an HOUR for lunch at 1 pm

7.30: rise and prepare myself for the task of posting a letter during the 12 noon to 1 pm time slot.

11.45: I leave home to travel to town (Greyton)

12.05: I join the queue to buy the required stamps to send a small envelope to Cape Town

12.57: Envelope is measured and weighed and declared to be a standard envelope. The uniformed post office official looks disappointed.

12.59: I am proud possessor of stamps.

1.05 pm: I walk to site of fenced off petrol station and post letter through wire with stick and masking tape device (fashioned earlier in the day)

1.10: order 'coke float' at Oak and Vigne to calm fevered brow.

1.35: receive 'coke float'

1.45: leave Oak and Vigne to travel home (forgetting to pay)

2.00: arrive home

Duration of task 2.15 hours. By now the day is almost over - pointless trying to start another task. I'll wait for RW to break open the new bottle of gin at 6 pm and note that the last time we drove to Capetown it took 2 hours.

Walk that line: Suit or Sandals or Suit with Sandals.

Walk that line: Suit or Sandals or Suit with Sandals.
First Posted:Thursday, April 24, 2008

There is interest in the setting up of Community Interest companies in Cumbria associated with Energy - (Energy Coast paper (see previous blogrant)).
An agency was approached to gauge interest and I suppose ultimately some funding. The response, though positive, ended: ‘The problem …. with Social Enterprises is what they do in a Gross Value Added (GVA) model.  Not for Profit companies don't contribute much to The Economy……’

Community Interest companies have better buy in and more success over private 'incomers' - so why the caveat?

Superficially the agency is correct. Not for Profit companies shouldn't contribute losses to the economy. However there are quite a few For Profit companies (big ones too - Northern Rock – to name but one) that have not contributed much to the GVA. (Work through that last sentence again before moving on – it's a wee bit convoluted but I think I know what I mean).

It's a very fine line to walk:  the one between profit seeking, sharp suited entrepreneurs and sandaled, socialist do-gooders. The former is seen as dodgy to fund and the latter is also dodgy; but for different reasons. The fact is that government agencies would rather give money to the profit seeking, sharp suited entrepreneur.

Social Enterprises are not agencies redirecting public money for a fee. (Agencies that sometimes spend less on themselves than the money they are given to redistribute). Social Enterprise are sustainable - not for loss (as I prefer to call them) organizations meeting their own costs and able to make a difference and add to the GVA whilst putting any profits back into other social ventures or repaying the funder. They need to have all the controls and processes that normal businesses have – where sensible and appropriate of course. However their focus is to provide jobs and services for the common good and pay fairly its employees and supply partners.

On a GVA basis I would do away with all government funded agencies and just let me decide who gets the money.

Rant over for today.

well

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3565335&id=700721105

From October 2005: Whats nepotism Dad

What’s nepotism Dad?

Nigel said, as they drove to work in the Rolls.

No idea son.. that windscreen’s dirty … must remember to wipe it.

But Dad what’s nepotism?
Yeah well drop me a note and get your mother to type it.
I’m on the train to London and back. Virgin’s £297 fare has worked wonders and made sure that the First Class Macassar carriages are nice and empty enabling me to get on with a load of work un-hindered by the working classes… or the middle classes or the upper classes. In fact the only people in here at all are people like me (on expenses) and RailTrack and Virgin workers going between jobs. A note to the Simmering Hostility Police: so far so good; staff very pleasant of all ethnic minorities including 1 Cumbrian; communication skills are good if a little loud, as I seem to be sat under a loudspeaker and 2 seats away from an Italian (virgin staff man) explaining Italian house design to a fellow worker. I have nihil against the Latins you understand.

The reason for the ‘nepotism’ tag and the boiling over hostility forcing me to blog is the Department of Trade & Industry, in the shape of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). It’s not really the NDA in particular (they just happen to be the most contemporary manifestation of my experience of things done in the public interest). Actually it’s not really nepotism either - see later. The government (let’s not beat about the blair) sets a set of rules and measures which it believes deliver best value for money. Yeah … I know this is starting to sound like a previous blog – but stick with me on this one.. The DTI, it’s servant the NDA, sets the agenda regardless of location or situation. No favour should be shown to local business, incumbents, competition should be the word most used, European Rules, transparency. They introduce something called ‘socio-economic impact’. BUT this is too soft for the DTI buyers and their agents to understand.

So - what has driven me to this outpouring? The fact that despite 30 plus years of doing work for the previous agent of the government - before my company can now bid work for the current agents (same people different clothes) we have to ‘pre-qualify’. This means a shit load of extra work and questions like ‘how do you communicate with your workforce?’ … ‘what is the turnover of staff and labour in your organisation.. and how do you establish the training needs and practice continuous improvement?’

What this lot forget or don’t know is that most of Cumbria is related through blood or marriage or familiarity. It is impossible not to be nepotistic(?).

I was asked once ‘how do you discipline an employee?’. My answer was ‘When I go home I have a word with his mother/sister/aunt/gran’. My auditor, for a second, thought I was joking. I then asked him who is father was and was he one of the Wigton Johnstons?