Hardy Mills chatted to Peter Ahern, the man who wants to build the Plett Small Boat Harbour
This was to be a short status update on FB with a link to an article about the proposed Plett Small Boat Harbour development but, since it became lengthy, I’ve posted it here, thinking it relevant to you considering I’m about to mention the controversial name, “Hardy Mills”, again.
Hardy Mills at The Table restaurant in Plettenberg Bay
I know druggies, alcoholics, waitrons, marketers, politicians, business owners etc. but the one relationship guaranteed to spin the rumour mill is the one with Hardy Mills, even more so than if I have a coffee meeting with the ANC’s Ralph Stander. I have previously spoken about how Hardy and i met but that was totally ignored by some who wanted to brand me as ANC (considering my beliefs, a ridiculous notion), a disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting the validity of my arguments against DA corruption in Knysna (suggestion: rather counter with information and facts).
Having successfully instituted court action against the DA, Hardy Mills is seen as the devil by some. Being a country that sees skin and political colours instead of people, the importance of the court cases have been ignored by many who are super quick to tar and feather. Much has been said about Hardy which hasn’t been true but, if Hardy were ever my lawyer (one of the lies is that he and the ANC are paying my court fees), I’d consider myself lucky to have him as he’s not only astute but the only political lawyer I know on the Garden Route.
I don’t know him too well but we have kept in almost monthly touch via phone and mail for the past 2 years, rarely getting the chance to sit down and chat because he’s a busy guy (even busier than me). However, I have seen the proud dad and husband, admire his intelligence, laughter, court victories and strength to face the aftermath that follows. Like me, he has his flaws and have no doubt that we’ve had strong arguments (I’m no fan of the ANC and hate the enormous fees lawyer’s earn) but I see the bigger picture, the bigger man.
When Plett rioted and burnt businesses, not one politician from the DA or ANC dared to go in as the rioters had banned all politicians (for all had failed them several times). Hardy Mills was the guy who went in to find out what the rioters’ demands were. I recall him telling me how scared he was (bravery is when you overcome it). For that service, some in power ‘paid him back’ by spinning the lie that he had helped instigate the riots. Politics, far too often about money and power, is vicious!
Overall, i appreciate the passion he has for his home town of Plettenberg Bay, maybe also because it reminds me of mine for Knysna.
Beacon Island
Last week, I saw him for the first time in almost a year (we’ve both being far too busy fighting our own wars). If he deserves to be cursed for anything it’s for buying me too much I.T.A. (tequila beer with 7% alcohol in an almost quart-sized bottle) under a ridiculously hot sun.
It was nice to relax without pressure but being the intense characters we are, we were rude to our companions when we inevitably switched to politics, definitions of morality, criminality and, especially, the Plett Small Boat Harbour Development, the main topic of conversation for everyone in that town. I said I’d love to get to know the other side and start by getting hold of the developer’s plans (so as to compare to the Save Plett Alliance’s interpretation) and Hardy said that he’d already spoken to the developer.
Today, he followed that up with a blog on his thoughts about the Plett Small Harbour controversy and shared a small conversation he had with the developer, Peter Ahern.
Read ‘Plett Small Boat Harbour Developer Speaks to Hardy Mills’ [link no longer working].
The harbour developers presented a 3d movie of their proposal at the open day. It did not go down very well. They did promise that it would be made available to disseminate to interested parties, it was not.
Save Plett realised that the 3d rendering did the project no justice, and embarked on having one done based on the plans in the scoping report, so that people could see the massive scale of what was proposed.
The developers 3d movie was very slick, realistic with water moving and all, problem was the scale and style of the buildings. They should have stuck with a simplified version like the one presented by Save Plett, as they acknowledged that it was not really a design, just something thrown together to give an impression. (failed to impress)
Thanks, Keith. It’s difficult for me to have a rounded opinion when there’s so much i don’t know. I’m sure that others, fair in their opinion, must feel the same. Firsthand accounts such as this help put information into the public domain so that reason, rather than emotion, eventually prevails.