Letter to the President of South Africa, The Premier of the Western Cape, the Speaker of Cape Town, and the Mayor

Dear all

Here is an email that a number of people have just asked me to write. I haven't included the attachments. If you want the original, please email me and I'll send you the original.

Solar Greetings
David Lipschitz


To: The Speaker, The Mayor and The Premier

cc'ed to various people who are pleading with me to stay on on the Ward Forum (and Sandi FYI).  Also cc'ed to various newspapers as the ward forum is an open platform as stated in its manifesto and governing rules.  I have also cc'ed President Jacob Zuma as I feel that the ANC and the DA both have the problems outlined below and I would very much like a resolution on these matters as a concerned Citizen of our beautiful Republic of South Africa.


I sent the email below and the "100817 Ward Forum 4 David Lipschitz Resignation.doc" attachment off yesterday.  I told the Ward Forum in an email on the 4th of August that I intend to resign and Sandi requested I do so formally.  I have sent off the letter, but can still change my mind.  We'll get to that.  But please read my letter of resignation dated 17th August 2010 (100817 ...) attached.  It is almost a verbatim copy of a letter I wrote to the Milnerton Residents Association on 5th October 2007.

I have been considering my position carefully over the past few months and don't feel that the ward forum adequately meets our (South African citizens) needs.  According to the "Making a difference through public participation Ward Forums" document, "Ward Forums are structured channels of communication between sub-councils and the wards."

Furthermore the Ward Forum code of conduct has certain timing limits on how long it can take for a councillor or even the speaker to respond and these limits are continuously being ignored.

- Forum members must at all times advance and act in the interest of the City of Cape Town and their community;- Forum members must not use their position to promote personal or private interest;- Forum members should avoid political conflicts among themselves and must also avoid political conflicts between themselves and the ward councillor.
At the recent workshop of sub council chairperson recommendations for tough disciplinary action was proposed for ward forum members who push political agendas.


Ward forum members must at all times advance and act in the interest of the City of Cape Town and their community and not promote personal or private interest.  I am one of the people who honestly and with integrity seeks to uphold these values.

I joined the ward forum about 3 years ago when it was formed because of the "structured channel of communications."  I felt that structure would be better than what we had before, ie residents associations that weren't being listened to.  But we are yet another cog in a machine which doesn't listen to its people whilst at the same time making it look like they are listening.  It is called Greenwashing.  I should hasten to add that Constantia, Newlands and Somerset Residents Associates are listened to and one should ask why?

I also sent the following challenge to the world on Facebook requesting that we get renewable energy onto the agenda.  Isn't it better to spend R100,000,000,000 on 20GW of energy employing 35,000 people than on 5GW of energy employing 1,000 people and damaging the environment for thousands of years?  See http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=143982192292305  I have written to government and Cosatu with this suggestion and have been ignored.

I also wrote to the Premier of the Western Cape in February with a method to allow private people and businesses to create renewable energy systems at no cost to the government.  We are even prepared to sell energy to the grid at the same price that the City of Cape Town pays Eskom!  Why?  Because then our panels and turbines can be 95% efficient, ie 95% of the energy from the solar panels and wind turbines can be used.  At the moment, in my house, my efficiency is about 35% with a battery system which doesn't reverse feed the grid.  I would probably never feed the grid, but on many days I am generating 800 Watts and only using 400 Watts and the other 400 Watts could be reducing my pool pump cost and therefore demands on the grid.

On Monday night (16th August 2010) I attended a talk by a nuclear expert who said that electricity demand is increasing at 4% per annum.  If it is, then we can never catch up if we constantly use old thinking.  See PowerPoint attachment.  The numbers in the attachment come from Eskom's web site.  The reason for so few power failures at the moment is because of the recession.

The PowerPoint attachment contains the challenge we have in the 21st Century; The Seven Crises in our Energy System by Dr Hermann Scheer, member of the German Government, implementor of renewable energy policies and founder of IRENA (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_KZ01ps6gI); and some graphs showing that we cannot catch up even if we spend a trillion Rand over the next 20 years and mortgage South Africa to outside interests (the new way of waging war!!),

We truly live in the "age of stupid" as Mervyn King said in a meeting at the BOE in Cape Town a few months ago.  There are ways that we could dramatically increase employment, dramatically increase food production, dramatically reduce our cost of living, and truly make South Africa great, but we choose to follow "first world principles" instead of tried and tested African traditions.

The Bible says a couple of things that might help us:
1) "Go forth and multiply".  At a meeting on Monday night, I asked about 20 people if they had read Genesis Chapter 1 vs 28 and all of them said no.  Can any of you please honestly tell me if you have read this sentence?  If you have, you will know that this line has been taken out of context because the phrase continues: "Go forth and multiply, and replenish the earth."  We have gone forth and multiplied; now we must replenish the earth;
2) "The sins of the fathers will be upon the children to the forth generation."  Deuteronomy Chapter 5 vs 9.  What this really means from an environmental point of view is that we must consider the forth generation after us in everything we do!
3) Bal Tashchit: There is a Biblical principle that protects trees.  We are cutting down trees.  Trees are our life.  Perhaps that's why people like the Dalai Lama aren't allowed to visit South Africa.  http://www.dalailama.com/messages/environment/buddhist-monks-reflections

My friends, I have a definition of Apathy.  "Apathetic people can do anything they like because one day the Messiah will come and save them."  This might be true.  I personally believe that each of us have Messianic properties and that by working together we can bring on a Messianic age with loads of food, loads of people thinking about the environment, loads of health and much less work.  In the Jewish Orthodox prayer book, it says that God will revive the Dead.  My personal view follows: Dear friends, so many people are "dead" whilst they are alive.  They are unconscious, just going to work, making money, buying food on the way home, cooking, watching TV, and then doing the same thing the next day.

We have such an incredible opportunity in South Africa to "revive the dead", to help make the apathetic concerned, to have 100% employment whilst at the same time polluting the earth less and saving money.  Let's make this country a land of milk and honey, something that is promised in the Bible and which can happen even in South Africa if we choose to make it so.

On so my friends, I think you can see my values.  If you still can't please see my Unashamedly Ethical Certificate at http://issuu.com/mypowerstation/docs/david_lipschitz_unashamedly_ethical_certificate

And so to my demands.  Note that all of these are three years old or more and the Ward Forum and Milnerton and other residents associations have spent 100's of hours on each one at a huge personal and community and paper cost.

1) The R27 from Tableview to Milnerton.
The left land was repaired a few years ago, but the repair was worse than the original!  I and others requested that the contractor be made to pay for the repairs at his cost.  We were told that this lane would be repaired when the IRT is built.  The IRT is complete in this section, but the road hasn't been fixed.

2) Equini Centre, The Paddocks, Milnerton.
The developers ignored cracks developing in their neighbours properties.  The developers drilled into the aquifer.  The developers should be made to pay for this.  I believe they have liquidated the company.  If this is the case, then company law allows them to be sued in their personal capacity for dereliction of duty;

3) 84 Ascot Road
This business owner has been fined R3,000 for operating a furniture business.  Has he paid?  See attachment prepared on 4th September 2008.

4) 4 Dordrecht Road
This business owner and his tenant operate a mini repair business.  They race their cars at Killarney race track.  The owner of the house is Mr Whitehead, a lawyer who I understand represents the city.  See attachment written on 19th September 2007 and affidavit written on 19th May 2008.  I asked Mr Whitehead if I could build a car repair business next to his house in Newlands.  He said he would fight it.

5) Lagoon Views: see attachment from 9th October 2007!  Nothing has been done.  The late Rob Robertson fought this very hard.  He also fought regarding the hotel at the Lagoon Mouth.  He knew Helen Zille personally.  Hopefully she will remember how hard he fought for the rights of so many;

6) Together with Tableview and Parklands, we live in the fastest growing cities in South Africa and the Southern Hemisphere, taking Milnerton, Tableview and Parklands as cities combining to form Cape Town.  We also live right next to the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station.  At the time it was built it made sense.  We live in a draught area and bringing electricity from the old Eastern Transvaal power stations was seen as strategically problematic.  However, Nuclear power doesn't make sense anymore.  We wanted our voices to be heard at the Ward Forum meeting on the 5th August 2010, but that meeting was cancelled.  It is imperative that our voices are heard and that the new IRP2010 Energy Strategy is implemented before decisions are made regarding Nuclear Energy.

There are cheaper, more effective methods, that will not cost the earth, that will protect the environment, that will give the average African like myself a better life with less crime, give jobs to millions of South Africans and reduce our pollution and waste.  If only we are prepared to try.  I met Anton Bredell on 8th June 2010.  I was hoping that he would understand these matters and be prepared to speak on a platform of the Environment, after all he is the Provincial Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs & Development Planning, but I was disappointed.  He isn't prepared to step outside party lines!!

Yet the 2003 White Paper on Renewable Energy which sets guidelines is being ignored.  It is referred to in the latest Final White Paper that I have attached.  The only thing all these laws do is make the consultants rich.  We are told that we have the best environmental legislation in the world.  But why don't we implement some of this legislation?  Is it because it is easier for MP's to sit in parliament creating new laws than getting out amongst communities helping us to save money?  In fact, I propose that a number of laws which protect big business at the expense of the common man are scrapped forthwith.  We have way to much complicated and conflicting laws in this country.  I propose that we start again with a legal system based on African cultural principles which have as their highest goals and ideals: respecting the earth, community and family.

Let's remember our Constitution and the people like Nelson Mandela and Albie Sacks who made it a reality:

Section 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996
Everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being; and to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation; promote conservation; and secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development.

As always, I am at your service as a Citizen of my Beloved Country, South Africa.

Peace on you, my Brothers and Sisters,
Ke Nako, the time is now,
Solar Regards,
David Lipschitz

D a v i d  Lipschitz BSc (Honours) MBA
I help you reduce your carbon footprint using:
• Renewable Energy
• Sustainable Business Design
• Information & Communications Technology.


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