Now to this post:
Following highly visible promotions by security companies looking to break into the Lonehill area, George Joubert writes (extract):
Hi Trevor, Are we not back in a "siege" situation like LSAG were seven year's ago i.e. between the security companies and the robbers -- a rock and a hard place? I wondered what your comments are as the founder of the greatest security initiative this country has ever known?'
To be fair, after just returning from my Sunday Morning jog/walk around Lonehill, my impression is that Lonehill is looking relatively neat (and I read that the dam is to be attended to - albeit an overly-delayed response to finding a solution). So I am pretty thankful for those responsible for the 'chalk & cheese' changes that have gone into stabilising our initiative from the 'disarray & mismanagement' debacles of last year. That said:
The danger of not having the LRA as the dominant decision-making body in the delivery of security and other initiatives in Lonehill will probably revert us back to the underlying conditions for urban TERRORISM (I remember the headlines well) that we we faced when six security providers were fighting over the divide-and-rule scraps of our disparate funds - costing us lives in the process, and a fortune in over-payment for piddle-poor service delivery.
If we have learnt anything over the period of this LRA initiative, it should be that MASS-CONSUMERISM (working together) can extract far more value for our collective rand than any individual spend can.
It may be that the 'competition' feels that the LRA Security Initiative is weak and devoid of strategy and therefore ready for the taking. This competition clearly employs traditional VISIBLE promotion techniques, and they seem to understand that VISUAL presence in the security game leads to market dominance in a dog-fight for territory.
Some questions to ask are:
1. Is the LRA/Fidelity service provider out COMPETING and 'baring their fangs' on the street corners to show that they really want our community's business?
2. Does the LRA/Fidelity demonstrate a willingness to display either the bark or the bite to SERIOUSLY capture the imagination of its publics?
I am afraid that I find it difficult to comment much further on current LRA strategy as there is little clear indication that one exists. This apart from my being at pains to COMPLIMENT the LRA's housekeeping stabilisation efforts which I feel have been commendable - given what had to be cleaned up.
Clearly, the Lonehill Community Initiative is dependent on the corporate governance - strategy, implementation, action/delivery, accountability & responsibility - of the people entrusted to manage those resources.
'Disarray & mismanagement' can cause almost irreparable long-lasting damage to the very foundations of such an initiative.
That's the challenge for the current LRA - to recapture the trust of its publics and to demonstrate that there is a credible strategy going forward (I believe it needs a BIG WOW statement to eradicate any negative feelings towards the LRA's impact in this community). The longer this doesn't happen, the more difficult it will be to launch any new community concept in the future.
I must say that I believe that the conditions and situation existing at the time that we launched this initiative back in 2000 are VERY DIFFERENT to the conditions and situation that present themselves today. This means that very different inputs will need to impact very different decisions needed to be taken for the future strategy roll-out of this initiative. Maybe the "siege" that G.J. warns of (and he is right to warn of it) can be avoided with some astute decisions taking into account today's situation in Lonehill.
This will take COLLECTIVE savvy, which clearly exists in this community. The danger, as has already been seen in our recent past, is when the 'few' take 'groupthink' decisions behind closed doors on the pretense of being 'open' and 'in the best interests of the community'. What bull..! It is ego and arrogance at its worst and leads to a collapse of confidence in leadership every time.
Certainly, I have proposed on this forum that the LRA call for all interested stakeholders to attend a strategy indaba meeting to ensure that the widest inputs are gained openly. I cannot see how it can be done with credibility in any other manner than an OPEN consultative process.
I repeat my comment made in the post dated Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - Re-Building Lonehill Community In The Streets :
I'm looking for inspiring LRA leadership that includes an open understanding of questions like:
1. What is the LRA's proposed long-term strategy, objectives and time-related targets?
2. What do the individual LRA directors hold themselves accountable to (i.e. measurable performance targets)?
3. What are the personal feelings of the individual LRA directors towards this community's challenges?
4. Where is The BHAG - the BIG Hairy Audacious Goal for our community?
Regards
Trevor Nel - 011 705-2790
Lonehill Resident
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