THE fact that managerial incompetence, and possibly corruption, exist in Scottish local government should not come as a surprise to anyone. After all, incompetence and corruption are to be found in every walk of life. Of course in the current political climate any ''scandal'' in local government is headline news.
While not wanting to minimise the scale of the problems in the North Lanarkshire DLO, I have to say that our politicians would do well to remember what is at stake.To paraphrase a former leader of the Labour Party, you shouldn't be playing politics with people's jobs.
As for the bigger picture, there is no doubt that reform of local government is overdue and I for one welcome the Government's Commission on Local Government and the Scottish Parliament. It is a great pity, however, that this debate is taking place against the backdrop of a distorted picture of local government painted by the media, ably assisted by politicians who should know better.
Let us have an honest debate which acknowledges the strengths as well as the weaknesses of local government. Let us also recognise that most members who serve on councils do so out of a genuine desire to represent their communities.
And, above all, let us not forget that the vast majority of people employed by our local authorities are decent men and women who do an honest day's work for, in many cases, less than an honest day's pay.
Stephen McCabe,
1 Meadows Court,
Wateryetts Drive, Kilmacolm.
June 4.
THE disclosure of the #4.5m deficit in North Lanarkshire has come as no great surprise to many people living in this area.
To give a few examples of their management I present the following from personal experience. No doubt others could add to the list.
Last year they spent a week patching up the A725 dual carriageway between Bellshill and Coatbridge. The result was, and still is, 400 yards of bumps spaced at regular intervals.
My home is in a multi-storey block, 14 storeys high. They had electricians working (Sundays only) to disconnect incinerators on each floor which hadn't been used for many years and were behind locked doors for which they did not have the keys, so they burst them open, splitting the facings - vandalism at its worst, and they remain like that to this day.
The council are at present refurbishing the entrance halls in both blocks after many appeals from our tenants' association. At the start of North Lanarkshire's tenure, Councillor Harry McGuigan promised they would consult with groups such as ours to make sure they were in tune with what people wanted. No consultations took place before work began.
We have a concierge system set up by Monklands District Council but North Lanarkshire have consistently refused to man this properly and for a year preferred to send in ''cleaners'' where previously the work had been done very well by the concierge staff.
As for the #54,000 plumber, he may have been the one sent to clear the refuse chutes when they became blocked. This used to be done by the concierge, unfortunately now confined to quarters.
This is just a glimpse of what is going on in North Lanarkshire. They proclaim to be ''Investors in People''. Perhaps they are investing in the wrong sort of people.
A Paterson,
2 Blairgrove Court, Coatbridge.
May 31.
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