11 December 2009
	Polite, helpful officials Bruce Finnemore, Beaconmore Farm, Muldersdrift

The article "Mogale madness" (Features November 13) refers. Though I can imagine that any municipal bureaucracy can at times cause extreme head-banging, I was quite amazed at the apparent degree of difficulty encountered with officials of Mogale City's department of economic development, as my extensive interaction with them over the past five years has been a 180° experience. I conceived and have driven a 210 ha housing development, Crane Valley Country Lifestyle Estates (unique, in that it consists of about 50% nature/game reserve and agricultural land, and 50% new residential properties) to its present status of "ready to go" with all the approvals and authorisation in place. Crane Valley falls within Mogale City but, unlike the land in discussion in your article, lies on the southern side of the N14, while Joubert's land and Hertford Hotel lie on the northern side within the ambit of the Cradle of Humankind and its buffer zone. I have had extensive dealings with all of the Mogale officials mentioned in the article and cannot fault their positive commitment to development of the area, within the boundaries of established town-planning norms. It must be said that the road of development is rocky indeed. It requires patience, courtesy, doggedness and at times one's own optimistic vision of light at the end of the tunnel. However, having heard the horror stories of other developers, I am grateful that the Mogale City officials I dealt with were polite, accessible and able to think "out of the box" for the benefit of the present community, and the new residents who will make their homes in secure estates like Crane Valley and other estates that are in the pipeline of development.