Please see attached English and Afrikaans videos at Grahamstown Police Station, and English and Afrikaans videos outside Kirkwood Police Station by George Michalakis MP, as well as pictures here, here, here.
The DA’s tour against poor municipal managers continues to the Eastern Cape.
Today, I laid criminal charges against Makana Municipal Manager, Mr Pumelelo Kate, and Sundays River Valley Municipal Manager, Mr Thabiso Klaas.
Under Section 173(1) of the Municipal Finance Management Act, a Municipal Manager is criminally liable for deliberate and grossly negligent financial mismanagement and financial reporting failures.
Kate and Klaas were appointed in November 2022 and January 2023, respectively, yet Makana and Sundays River Valley continue to maintain disclaimed audit findings. Both municipalities have received a disclaimed audit for the past 7 financial years.
A disclaimed audit finding is the worst audit outcome, showing poor record-keeping, weak controls and instability.
Mr Kate and Mr Klaas are not effectively turning the ship around, having been at the helm for considerable periods. Makana residents still cannot drink tap water and must purchase drinking water, due to previous detections of E.coli. Barring provincial intervention, Sundays River Valley is on the road to insolvency.
This underscores the importance of electing DA-led governments on 4 November to get these towns working. The ANC only holds a one-seat majority in Makana and can be brought below 50% in Sundays River Valley if voters demand change.
Municipal mismanagement, from dirty water, sewage-filled streets, crater-sized potholes and landfills that cause contamination, can be failures of the past. Under the DA, communities can not only work, but thrive.
Our tour continues in earnest.