Impressed with the cleanliness of city

DEAR George van der Merwe,

I read your letter in the paper (“You’re not doing your job, Mr Mayor”, December 31) with interest.

I have not been back in South Africa for more than two years as I live and work in Dubai. I have not been to Port Elizabeth for at least 20 plus years.

My daughter is now living here and I have come home for a Christmas vacation with her. Having lived in Durban and Johannesburg prior to moving to Dubai, and now that I am 60, I am thinking of where to retire.

The obvious choice is where my family live – Port Elizabeth jumps to the top of the tree!

Well George, you might ask what’s this got to do with your letter? The answer is this.

There might be some overgrown public areas around the city, and Mr Fihla, I agree wholeheartedly with George, they do need to be maintained. That said, I have driven through Govan Mbeki Avenue and all around the city to see the parts I remembered and I must say that I am highly impressed with the overall cleanliness and cheerfulness of the city.

Having seen all the negative comments that are thrown at SA (Mr Zuma, the sooner you’re out of office the better!), I am very pleasantly surprised to find such a well run city with good feelings from the people I have met. There is always work to be done consistently to improve, but it certainly appears to me that PE is a city moving forward and embracing all that is good in SA and the general appearance is a city that is prospering.

So all in all, my vote is keep up the good work being done and don’t lose sight of the little things that will make a good city great!

Happy New Year.

John, visiting from Dubai