The phrase "City of Choice" has been adopted by The Pietermaritzburg (PMB) City "Maters" and "Paters" to promote PMB. I think it may well have been inspired by the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) legislature choosing PMB over Ulundi as the capital of KZN. The phrase has a good ring to it and hopefully PMB will ultimately live up to the vision it inspires.
Right now PMB does not always cut it as the "City of Choice" for me. So much so that I have considered registering the Internet domain name' "CityofChoice.co.za" and using it to display photographs in support of the numerous reasons I could cite that would mitigate against PMB being a "City of Choice". I am sure that in no time public submissions of photographs would result in this site rivalling "You Tube" (http://www.youtube.com/) in terms of "daily hits".
The first photograph I personally would put on the site would be one of the rubbish (litter) left outside the Winston Churchill Theatre after a school function has been held there. It is a real eyesore and not what you would expect from tomorrow's leaders. I have often wondered why the teachers who presumably accompany the children do not insist that no one leaves for home until the place resembles the one they found when they first arrived there.
Of course the mess always does ultimately get cleaned up by the municipal cleaners. These are folk that deserve a bouquet as they regularly clean up the city centre after it has been turned into what resembles a trash heap in places.
Getting back to the City of Choice", could it not take the lead in South Africa and become "Pietermaritzburg, South Africa's Cleanest City"? If it could, I am sure it will then indeed be the City of Choice. I say this because if we could fix the litter problem, then surely it will only be a matter of time before we also fix other problems such as abysmal driving and crime.
Finally the municipal cleaners should not fear for their jobs, surely it will be better to be responsible for maintaining a true shine on an already clean "City of Choice".