Write a comment
Dear sir,
Whilst canvassing over the past week, many voters have rightly voiced their anger at a council who seemingly cannot even arrange for their bins to be collected. On each occasion, I try to explain to people that this is part of a wider cultural and political problem within our council. Not unlike Stormont, our council thrives on a culture of division, dysfunction and secrecy – where anyone who tries to speak out publicly is silenced and maligned. After 8 years as a councillor I saw things go from bad to worse as council management, under political cover from Sinn Fein and the SDLP in particular, made decisions to exclude dissenting voices from discussions, cut valued services and facilities and press ahead with expensive pet projects at great expense to the ratepayer. It was particularly galling to learn last week that our CEO is the highest paid Chief Executive in Northern Ireland, yet when it comes to a range of indicators, from planning to enforcement matters, our council often ranks 11th out of 11.
The recent industrial action is a perfect example of our council’s priorities. In late 2021 Council and the unions agreed a pay deal with a number of other conditions. Despite councillors being promised that part of the reason for this year’s rates increase was to service this deal, that agreement remains unfulfilled. After almost 2 years of management intransigence, workers have been left with no alternative than to engage in industrial action, and I stand by their decision to do so. These workers are doing what we all have a responsibility to do – speaking truth to power and standing up to those in positions of authority who have gotten away with their shambolic management of our district council for far too long.
In our council, there can be no doubt that the tail wags the dog. Council management calls the shots and councillors respond by rubber stamping officer’s reports and lambasting anyone who dares challenge (particularly Alliance and Independent councillors). On the rare occasion councillors do begin to voice concerns, they regularly cower under the contrary opinion of expensive consultant’s reports or legal advice keenly tailored to back up management’s original position. In most other council areas, councillors call the shots. But not in Newry, Mourne and Down. The two largest parties in the area, Sinn Fein and SDLP, have failed to provide the leadership and scrutiny required of local elected representatives. Therefore it is vital that all ratepayers use the council election on the 18th May as an opportunity to vote for change. To vote for candidates who will work for them, not council management.
Dr Patrick Brown MLA, MLA for South Down
