Communicating with the government

If you want a reply from government have a friend who works there, otherwise expect your email to be ignored. If you want a reply that shows intelligence and an attempt to answer your questions, then don't email the government.

So 2 weeks ago I emailed government employee, Jane Eagle, who has been managing the sewerage and litter problem at Bruma Lake for more than ten years. Jane works for Jo'burg's Environmental Management Department. Jane promised an email reply by Thursday, a week and a half ago. I have given up waiting.

So today I emailed Eagle's boss, Flora. Flora is the head of the Environmental Management Department which is the Dept that has some responsibilty towards Bruma Lake. In other words the EM Dept needs to deal with the terrible smell and all the sewerage in the lake.

Anyway, Flora did not reply to the direct email I sent to her. But a friend of mine in the City Council forwarded her the email. She replied to him and he forwarded her answer to me.  I guess I need more friends in the Joburg council.

Not that Flora's reply was helpful.

I titled the message: "Bruma Lake media query"

She wrote: Is this a media query or a query to help you with your studies.



I wrote: My name is Katharine Child. I am writing a story for a Wits website on Bruma Lake. I have some questions about the lake. As I will be writing about what people say about Joburg water and the Environmental Management department, I need to give you a right to reply

She wrote: We report on Bruma on a quarterly basis where you can get more information from Council reports. It is difficult for us to manage such queries as and when they come and we rather refer questions to be based on our own reports


She can only answer questions from her reports. Wow!

I wrote: My research shows that various attempts to clean the lake have failed over the last few years. First there were litter nets used to catch litter but these were often full and broken, according to people involved with keeping the lake clean in 2002 and 2003. The litter nets were not well maintained and did not work. Then the litter trap was built but now the gate is not kept down properly, due to the sewerage, so litter gets into Bruma lake anyway under the gate that was open.


She wrote: It would appear you got briefing from someone else that you are not disclosing and now want us to respond on a matter we have no context about.


She has no context about what her department is in charge of ?
I asked her about what she said and what was discussed at a meeting, she attended a week ago. The questions came from the minutes of the meeting and she was there. Has she forgotton?


She wrote: Please clarify your context before we provide you with info

I feel I am getting nowhere with them.