Like Chalk & Cheese... LRA Appears To Be Bouncing Back!

Has anyone noticed how quiet the local crime scene seems to have been over the last two weeks?

Is it coincidence... or is it the result of a heightened state of alert, concern, awareness, visibility and vigilance by all involved in the Lonehill Community Security Initiative?

I'd like to think that it is the latter, and that our new LRA executive is making things hum in Lonehill as they used to a few years back.

One can see that Ian Bell's return is having a positive impact on environmental issues once again - litter and posters seem to be under control. It's nice to see Ian's team VISIBLY in action in and around Lonehill. Just a pity about the dam - another disappointing legacy of not encouraging and supporting the continuing commitment of quality concerned contributors like the Lukans (and, I suspect, a spill-over affect from the sewage spills I've been reporting almost every three weeks since early December). Everything has a cause and effect!

I'm also told that the Weekly LRA Security meetings under the chair of Mike Goodwin are back to the short, sharp, purposeful demanding standards of some of the better days of the LRA. That's encouraging feedback.

Old business acquaintance and Sunday Business Times columnist - David Bullard: 'Don't wear your best jeans when being shot' - a man not shy to give of his honest personal opinion - will tell of the terrible trauma that follows an attack in one's home by the scourge of our society.

On radio I heard David say, to paraphrase, 'Today it is not a matter of "if" you'll be a victim, but "when".'

Personally, I find that disturbing, but I don't intend to be a 'willing' victim in my community.

David now knows what many of us have experienced at first-hand in our community and reminds us of what drove us to launch our initiative... and why some of us are so sensitive to those who let our community initiative down, especially when entrusted to continue building the legacy to greater heights.

Like David, many are aware that I don't pull any punches on my opinions either, so it may come as something of a surprise to some that I am fast getting to feel that our current levels of peace-of-mind and security in Lonehill compared to that of this time last year... is like chalk and cheese!

For one, I had the pleasant experience of personally witnessing Fidelity reaction officers in two vehicles responding within three-minutes to a 4:30 a.m. panic alarm at my home this week. That's a minimum standard that we want in Lonehill. Exceptional... and well done!

I just wonder what has happened to the two motor-bikes we're supposed to have patrolling our area?

It certainly appears that the LRA is busy bouncing back to a bare minimum standard that we had attained a few years back... a standard that had us ready to move along a path to another massive level of progress - and which was sadly not taken. I believe that some had thought that we had arrived, when we hadn't even yet begun the real journey!

Hopefully this LRA Executive will take the 'High Road' forward - it certainly looks promising. My continuing compliments and encouragement to LRA Chairman - Rob Gillespie - and his growing team, your essential task has only just begun.

Growing team? I'm very pleased to see more and more quality voluntary contributors now finding their way into the LRA fold to share their passion for their community. It has always been my opinion that the more the LRA opens up to the contribution of all stakeholders who want to contribute, and the more it strives towards total openness and transparency in its meetings and financials - as used to be the case when we launched the initiative - the more quality people will want to be involved.

My really deep concern that I have clearly voiced is that the PAID service providers should be delivering to a far higher standard and enthusiasm than they have in the past and as they deliver currently in support of quality volunteers.

I look at the highly visible marketing displays by a competing security service provider in Lonehill this week and my concern grows for the danger of security companies once again taking over our community in a divide-and-rule-manner which led to the violent crime anarchy in our community that we had to overturn back in 2000.

Community stakeholders NEED to be in control of their community and controlling the security service providers, not the other way around! Look at the current Parkview experience right now. Security companies are fighting to take back control from the residents. Our LRA leadership needs a clear strategy to deal with this direct challenge to their community authority...NOW...!

I stand by my views expressed in:
1. VISIBILITY & Vigilance - No.1 Priority , and in
2. LRA Funding - Priority No. 2 - New Personnel NEEDED?

There is no such thing as an 'apathetic' community in my books, to me 'pathetic leadership leads to apathetic communities'. Quality leaders know how to include others and give them the opportunity to make massive contributions to their community.

My warning is that others, with just as much quality potential as the current executive, blew it because they didn't consult extensively with their community. Their mistake, in my opinion, was to take important decisions behind closed doors and based them on the uninformed whims of a few in group-think mentality without adopting a test-and-measure research-and-feedback opinion analysis of the very people targeted to fund the initiative - the residents and other concerned stakeholders.

In this way, hard-earned community investment was piddled away against the wall with very little positive return, in fact, almost driving the LRA and our initiative back onto the rocks last year.

That's why I am an advocate for open community tenders, no matter how small the task or the position. There are so many positive benefits to an open tender process which underpinned the launch of our initiative, not least of which being the ability to test the power of persuasion of the tenderer under stress.... and allowing the community to openly have a vote in the presentations - not just a few people who, it was seen, can get it very wrong... no matter how well-intentioned!

Learn the lessons well.. this is a community of +- 5000 households, if not more... not just a select few!

My advice for the new LRA execs is to get to learn what their community WANTS and what stakeholders are willing to pay for, and to follow how they vote with their money.

There are also many simple strategic management tools that can be utilised. Just a 30-second glance around the LRA offices last year told anyone with a hint of strategic business development experience that the LRA was devoid of any strategy at that point, which seemingly proved to be the case. I wonder if this 'first impression' in these offices has changed?

I'm looking forward to sometime soon seeing a 'new' LRA executive strategy being first consulted with the community for feedback, finalised in documented format, and then announced and followed, so that we know that we won't again slip back into what resulted in the debacle of last year.

I am still of the opinion that acceptance of an overall strategy will not happen until all KEY stakeholders are invited to a mass indaba to make their opinions felt, to openly indicate their wants and needs, and for the LRA to gain consensus of direction from all stakeholders to get their united commitment. There are far too many stakeholders in our community that are still not aware of what the LRA is doing and vice versa. Everyone needs to get on the same page and work together to make this community great... and the LRA needs to provide that direction.

Clearly we have the resources for such an important indaba (i.e. over R1 million of 'unecumbered' capital as stated at the last community feedback meeting), use it wisely to bring all influential and interested stakeholders together to discuss the BIG issues in this community - some as yet still not touched on in this forum to date.

Regards
Trevor Nel - 011 - 705-2790
Lonehill Resident