My sticking points arn't sticky points
(Scroll down for the English version of this letter)
(Scroll down for the English version of this letter)
Mede-Prince Alberter
Soos jy seker reeds weet, vind die Prince Albert Munisipale Verkiesing plaas op 18 Mei. As jy besluit om nie te stem nie, verloor jy jou reg om te klavir die volgende vyfjaar. Dus: wat ook al jou politieke voorkeur – gaan stem asseblief! Ja! ja!! Goed, ek weet dis nie nodig dat ek jou hoefte vertel wat jy moet doen nie. Maar weet jy vir wie jy gaan stem – en op welke basis? Stem jy met ander woorde vir die persoon of vir die party? Nogal ‘n goeie vraag, né?
Dalk dink jy dat breë politieke en ekonomiese beleid maar min te make het met die doen en late van ‘n kleindorpse munisipaliteit. En gedeeltelik is jy reg, want al wat jy seker eintlik verwag, is koste-effektiewe dorps bestuur met maksimum diens vir jou belasting geld. Tog is dit belangrik om te weet op watter waardes die DA sy beleid skoei.
Die DA is die party wat ‘n gemeenskap van ope geleenthede voorstaan; wat wil sien dat mense wat waarde heg aan hul vryheid, in vrede kan voortgaan met hul lewens; wat klem lê op versekerde eiendomsreg; wat on-onderhandelbaar is oor vryheid van spraak; wat aandring op die inperking van staatsmag. Die DA is die party vir vrede en voorspoed. Ek vermoed dat, wanneer jy stem, jy moet besluit of hierdie stel waardes tot jou spreek en of jy jou daarmee kan vereenselwig.
En dan is daar die persoon: dis nou ek. Ek is bevrees, jy sal maar jou eie mening moet vorm. Praat met mense wat my ken, bel my, e-pos my, en ek sal myself graag aan jou kom bekendstel daar en wanneer dit jou pas. Ek het ook my eie beskeie webwerf: (colinbower.com).
Ek gaan nie ‘n klomp beloftes maak oor wat ek alles gaan doen indien ek as raadslid verkies word nie. Ek gaan nie ‘n gek van myself maak nie en verklaar: “Bower staan teen korrupsie en vir effektiewe en bekwame bestuur.” Dis tog net logies. Maar dit is my plig om jou onomwonde in te lig oor my absolute beginselpunte. Dit pla my dat ons dorp so opsigtelik verdeel is in Noord/Suid, ryk/arm, wit/gekleurd. Self het ek nie ‘n oplossing ter hand nie. Ek weet net dat ons die probleem sal moet begin aanspreek as ons ons wil beywer vir ‘n blink toekoms. Selfs die kleinste stappie vorentoe sal al baie help. My oortuiging is dat ons net gaan slaag as ons ‘n sterk groeiende ekonomie opbou, een wat nie afhanklik is van die staatskas nie, maar wat groei uit die voordele van ekonomiese vryheid.
Vir nou laat ek dit daar. Maar wees gerus, ek geniet dit om my gedagtes met jou te deel- en jy sal verseker weer van my hoor.
Verkiesingsgroete
Colin Bower.
Fellow Prince Albertian
As you will know by now, the Prince Albert Municipal elections will be held on the 18th May. You lose all your complaining rights for the next five years if you don’t vote, so – whatever your political affiliation - please vote! OK, OK, sorry, you didn’t need me to tell you what to do, I know. OK, but for whom do you vote, and on what basis? In other words, do you vote for the political party, or do you vote for the person? A good question. You may think that broad political and economic policies have little to do the affairs of a small town municipality. Yes – you are partially right - what you want most of all, I suspect, is cost effective governance that delivers maximum bang for your ratepaying buck. But don’t overlook some of the values that inform DA thinking: the DA is the party of the open opportunity society and of freedom loving people who largely want to be left in peace to get on with their lives, the party of secure property rights, of non-negotiable rights to freedom of speech, of the separation of the powers of government; the party of peace and prosperity. I guess what you decide, when you vote, is whether you feel comfortable and at home affiliating with such a set of values.
Then there is the person: that’s me. I’m afraid you’re on your own there. Ask anyone in your social network who might know who I am, or,drop me an email or a ring, and I will with pleasure visit you at your house or at any other venue at a time of your own choosing. I have a modest little website up (colinbower.com).
I’m not going to make a whole load of promises about what I intend doing if I should be elected as your councilor: it sounds plain silly to say “I stand for corruption free, competent and effective governance”, for who doesn’t?
But I do have an obligation to tell you a few of my sticking points – my non-negotiable principles. I don’t think it’s right to have a town that is divided so visibly and so intransigently along the lines of north and south, of well-off and poor, and of white and of coloured. Don’t ask me how we resolve these problems, because I don’t know. But I do know we will never achieve a future worth having if we don’t start thinking about this problem now, and proposing even the smallest of steps towards our destination. My own view is that no strategy will work in this regard if it isn’t based on a strongly growing economy, and the economy doesn’t grow by order of any government body, it grows out of the conditions of economic freedom.
I’ll leave it at that for the moment.; but don’t worry, I’m quite enjoying this, and you’ll be hearing more from me!
Yours in freedom
Colin Bower.
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