‘Cradock

Dear Editor

Today, 27 January 2022, the Compatriots of South Africa (CSA) gave every indication that they have started the process of handing the Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality (DBNLM) back to the ANC.

Together with the ANC, the CSA boycotted the Council Meeting in Aberdeen – thus rendering it unable to quorate. This meeting was called, primarily, to establish the various Standing and Section 79 Committees that a Municipal Council is required to have in order to render services. We are now entering our third month without any committees, which is a serious threat to governance.

On 23 November 2021, DA Cllr Ewald Loock was elected as Mayor. This followed the DA entering into a coalition agreement with the CSA and the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus). CSA Cllr Laughton Hoffman was elected as Speaker of Council.

The Dr Beyers Naude Council consists of 24 seats. The DA (10 seats) and its coalition partners the FF Plus (1) and CSA (1) – with the support of the EFF (1) – took over government of this Municipality.

Last week the national president of the CSA, Cheslin Felix, a resident of Port Elizabeth and a well-known supporter of the ANC, removed Cllr Hoffman. Felix, who was unsuccessful in his bid to become a ward councillor in Nelson Mandela Bay, has placed himself at number one on the PR list to take up the party’s seat in Council.

The CSA based their election campaign on the need to rid Dr Beyers Naude of the ANC. Supporters of the CSA voted to remove the ANC – only to be sold down the river by Mr Felix.

The CSA’s support of the ANC will lead to a hung council and service delivery in Dr Beyers Naude will grind to a complete halt.

After only 60 days in government, the DA-led coalition is making a difference. Potholes, boreholes and sewerage drains are being fixed and the landfill site in Aberdeen has been cleared. Refuse collection and water carting have been consistent and illegal dumping sites have been attended to.

The ANC is attempting to get back its power through the back door with the support of the CSA, or to render the Municipality ungovernable.

The DA-led coalition will continue to deliver services. We will not allow power hungry individuals to destroy our vision for Dr Beyers Naude.

Regards

Samantha Graham-Maré, MP
Dr Beyers Naude Constituency Leader

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Dear Editor

Yesterday residents of Somerset East, in the Blue Crane Route Municipality (BCRM), took to the streets in frustration as they have been without water for up to 23 days in December and no water for up to 15 days in January!

Somerset East residents have been without their basic Constitutional human right of access to water for 38 days.

There is no drought in the area, the dams are overflowing, and the Orange River supply is strong.

The Democratic Alliance is calling on COGTA MEC, Xolile Nqatha, to urgently intervene, and will also be laying criminal charges against municipal officials.

Residents and councillors in the BCRM have been denied any access to reliable information in terms of the cause of the situation, nor have they been given any timeline for resolving the problem.

Yesterday, when managers were confronted by angry residents, there were only excuses – vandalism, vacancy of critical posts and budget constraints.

No timeline was given for restoring the water supply.

This situation is a result of maladministration and mismanagement of the highest order.

The DA has again written to MEC Nqatha, to request his urgent intervention, and to call for an investigation into the conduct of the municipal manager, Thabiso Klaas, and the director of technical services, Ayanda Gaji¸ relating to the manner in which this catastrophe was handled.

In December, the DA laid a complaint to the Human Rights Commission regarding the ongoing mismanagement of the municipality’s water supply and requested their urgent intervention.

The DA will continue to hold officials to account and fight for access to basic human rights for all people.

Regards

Vicky Knoetze, MPL

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Dear Editor

The rural community of Middelburg has been left without water and electricity for the last three days. Tensions are on a knife-edge as the Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) has failed to manage the crisis.

Since Sunday, 26 December 2021, the community of Middelburg has been without electricity. This extended power outage has come as a result of a broken transformer at Noupoort, which was damaged by lightning some weeks ago and has yet to be fixed by Eskom.

The lack of electricity has made it impossible for the CHDM to continue to pump and reticulate borehole water to residents. Boreholes are the only source of water to the town. This is the fourth time in three weeks that Middelburg has encountered extended power and water outages.

The situation has been aggravated by the inability of the CHDM to put proper emergency measures in place. Two water tankers were made available during the course of yesterday and have to provide water to an estimated 15 000 residents.

None of the backup generators for boreholes are functional and as a result of the electricity outage water supply has come to an abrupt halt.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that the Middelburg Waste Water Treatment Plant as well as the sewage pump stations, which are also under the control of the CHDM, have been non-operational for years. It is now feared that the lack of water in the system could potentially have serious health repercussions for residents.

This morning the Democratic Alliance (DA) made contact with the Eastern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Xolile Nqatha, and requested his urgent intervention. We also requested the MEC to source additional water tankers and to facilitate communication between the CHDM and Eskom in order to fast-track repairs to the transformer. The MEC has undertaken to immediately intervene in the unacceptable situation.

The DA has long called for the water and sanitation competency to be removed from the CHDM. The level of incompetence and neglect shown by the municipality is seriously compromising the health and well-being of residents.

We will continue to expose the incompetence and negligence of the Chris Hani District Municipality until national government intervenes and removes this competency from what must surely be the most incompetent water and sanitation service provider in the country.

Regards

Retief Odendaal, MPL
EC Midlands Constituency Leader

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Dear Editor

The Makana and Ndlambe Local Municipalities are in the process of withdrawing their full lists of delegates of all parties to the Sarah Baartman District Council, which is Ultra Vires (beyond one’s legal power or authority) and smacks of political manipulation.

The DA has written to the MEC of COGTA, MEC Xolile Nqatha, stating that the activities taking place in the Makana and Ndlambe Local municipalities are Ultra Vires and highly irregular, and have requested his urgent investigation into this matter. The DA has further requested that appropriate action be taken as a matter of urgency.

Download Letter.

We will also be monitoring the IEC’s involvement in the process to ensure that they do not make themselves complicit in an unlawful process.

Legislation makes no provision for Local Municipalities to withdraw the entire delegation from the district council and makes no provision for the re-run of such elections. The legislation only makes provision for a political party to withdraw a specific person’s name, by written notice

These actions appear to be a move to fix political blunders, as the ANC was asleep at the wheel when these lists were first elected.

This follows as both the Makana and Ndlambe Local Municipality Councils are seeking to withdraw the list of district council representatives previously elected at their respective inaugural meetings, and to then re-elect all representatives to the district.

In Makana, the item brought to the council alleges the manner in which the IEC conducted the election “weakened the representation” of Makana to the district. Re-election would not strengthen Makana’s representation at the district level, as the number of representatives will not change.

In Ndlambe, the ANC gave a notice of motion for the recission of the resolution of council regarding representatives. The motion alleges that the IEC conducted the election process in such a way that there was no scope for Council or the administration to confirm or dispute the process.

In both cases, no objections were raised on the day, or in the weeks following the initial elections,.

It is clear that councillors and party agents of the ANC failed to adequately familiarise themselves with the process and the relevant provisions of the relevant legislation.

The DA will continue to hold the government to account and ensure that no actions fly in the face of the rule of law or our Constitutional principles. These actions are obstacles that must be prevented so that we can be focused on building a province of hope and opportunity.

Regards

Vicky Knoetze

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Dear Editor

The residents of Jansenville and Klipplaat, already buckling under scourges of unemployment and poverty, have been dealt another blow, this time by the Post Office in Jansenville.

Despite assurances a year ago by the erstwhile Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams (see here), that there should be no delays in the processing of Social Relief of Distress Grants (R350), Jansenville Post Office remains unable to process and pay out the grants of beneficiaries.

People from Klipplaat, after having received an SMS confirmation, used transport to get to the Jansenville Post Office, only to be turned away empty-handed. Unable to pay for the return trip, they are either stranded in Jansenville or forced to walk the 32km home. Jansenville residents return day after day, only to return home hungry and disillusioned.

Today, 7 December 2021, a petition from Cllr Mandy Deyzel, signed by over 500 residents and submitted by me to the Speaker’s Office, has been tabled in Parliament to be brought before the Committee on Communications.

The petition, drafted by the Democratic Alliance (DA) requests that an investigation be launched into the management of the Jansenville Post Office with special focus on the failure to pay grants on time. (see picture here)

The DA cannot stand by while the poorest and most marginalized people in our communities are abused by a failing system run by bureaucrats who do not care.

These are the people we need to protect and care for and we will pursue this matter until all the residents of Jansenville and Klipplaat are provided with decent services by the government.

Reagrds

Samantha Graham-Maré, MP
Dr Beyers Naude Constituency Leader

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Dear Editor

The DA welcomes the election of DA councillor Ewald Loock as the new Executive Mayor of the Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality.

Today, 23 November 2021, Cllr Loock was elected as Mayor at the municipality’s inaugural council meeting in Graaff-Reinet.

This follows the DA entering into a coalition agreement with the Compatriots of South Africa (CSA) and the Freedom Front Plus (FF+). The coalition agreement was finalised shortly before the commencement of today’s council meeting.

Cllr Loock has served as a public representative for the best part of 26 years – 13 years of which he served as the Mayor of the erstwhile Baviaans Municipality.

CSA Cllr Laughton Hoffman was elected as Speaker of Council and DA Cllr Ricardo Smith was voted in as Chief Whip. The councillor from the FF+ was elected to serve as a representative in the Sarah Baartman District Council.

Dr Beyers Naude will be sending three councillors to be representatives in the Sarah Baartman District Council. This will be one councillor from the DA, one from the FF+ and one from the ANC.

This coalition opens up new opportunities for the DA and its partners to bring change to the Sarah Baartman District by possibly taking over government of this district municipality.

A DA-governed Sarah Baartman District will see improved roads, economic growth, development of the tourism sector and better support in terms of disaster management – something that is desperately needed in this drought-stricken area.

Now, more than ever before, we are committed to serving the people of Dr Beyers Naude by ensuring transparent, corruption free governance and excellent service delivery to the deserving residents of this municipality.

Regards

Andrew Whitfield, MP
DA Eastern Cape Provincial Chairperson

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Dear Editor

The Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality’s inability to manage its affairs is placing local businesses at risk of major financial issues. According to information I have received, the traffic department does not have the paper needed to print and issue motor vehicle licences and will, in all likelihood, not have this paper until 2022. This is, in part, due to the fact that the Municipality owes the Department of Transport R16 million in licence fees.

While ordinary licence registrations can be done at the Post Office, all new registrations and change of ownership transactions can only be done at the Traffic Department. This is having a massive bearing on motor vehicle dealers who are now unable to process the sale of any vehicles. At last count, motor vehicle sales in excess of R10 million were awaiting registration. Our local motor vehicle dealerships are having to carry the burden while trying to keep their doors open and pay their staff.

It is reprehensible that the Dr Beyers Naude Municipality is not only failing to provide such a basic, yet significant service, but, if the non-payment of fees to the Department of Transport continues, the Municipality is also at risk of losing its agency altogether. This would have far-reaching consequences for our residents, as well as for one of the Municipal income streams. The Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality can ill afford to lose any income.

We are already consulting with the Municipality but as soon as our councillors are sworn in, they will be asking for a full investigation into the matter with a request to ringfence licence fees so that this money is paid to the Department and not used for other purposes. We need to ensure that we do not lose the agency, which would mean that people would have to travel hundreds of kilometres to get vehicles registered.

While we await the inaugural Council Meeting on 23 November, this situation merely highlights how desperately the residents of Dr Beyers Naude need a DA-led government to bring stability and to implement a financial recovery plan. We cannot afford another 5 years of ANC mismanagement.

Regards

Samantha Graham-Maré, MP
Dr Beyers Naude Constituency Leader

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Dear Editor

Residents of Somerset East have been without water for 23 days, while the Blue Crane Route Municipality keeps everyone in the dark about the cause of this growing humanitarian disaster.
People are queuing to collect water from water tanks. Businesses have ground to a standstill, pupils cannot use toilets at schools, hospitals and clinics in the area have been affected, people cannot wash and toilets cannot be flushed.

Even the Eastern Cape MEC of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Xolile Nqatha, who was approached by the Democratic Alliance to intervene, appears to be unable to get answers out of municipal officials.

There is no communication or transparency around the matter, which has brought the town to a standstill.

In some cases, water returns every third or fourth day, for an hour or two, before the taps run dry again. Even in these cases, residents have to rely on each other to know when the water is flowing, as no communication is forthcoming from the municipality.

Democratic Alliance councillors in the area suspect that the already compromised water situation in the town has been further aggravated by the recent loadshedding, which could have impacted on water pumps in the area, preventing water being pumped to reservoirs.

However, attempts to get confirmation on this from the municipality have also simply been ignored.

It has become abundantly clear that the ANC’s deployed cadres are incapable of providing the residents of Somerset East with their constitutionally guaranteed right to water. Worse, they simply refuse to be held accountable for their inaction and incompetence.

The DA has now written directly to the Human Rights Commission, requesting their urgent intervention in the matter and has called for loadshedding to be suspended in the town, until the water situation has been resolved.

A DA-led Eastern Cape government would ensure that the water starts flowing in Somerset East, by making use of the constitutionally afforded avenues available to intervene, and would ensure that those officials responsible are held accountable.

We would not simply shrug our shoulders and claim that the officials refuse to provide feedback.

Regards

Vicky Knoetze, MPL

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Dear Editor

The main pump house in Zola, Tarkastad, which is supposed to pump sewage to the Tarkastad waste water treatment works, has not operated for years and is completely surrounded by a dam of sewage. (See photos here and here).

This gruesome discovery was made on Tuesday when I conducted an oversight inspection in Tarkastad to assess service delivery issues in the town.

According to residents living across the road from the pump house, sewage levels are regularly so high that the sewage fills the road and floods their yards.

Local municipal workers say that there is nothing they can do about it as it is the responsibility of the Chris Hani District Municipality to manage water and sewage in the district.

But Chris Hani District Municipality is one of the most corrupt and broken municipalities in the country and ongoing cadre deployment has left it with little to no capacity to fulfil its mandate.

So residents, whose homes were planned and built before the pump station was erected right across the road from their homes, usually have to walk through the faeces in order to leave or return to their homes.

The health risks of such barbaric living conditions are enormous and residents often suffer from diarrhoea and other stomach ailments as a result.

I will write to the EC MEC for COGTA, Xolile Nqatha, to request his urgent intervention to ensure that the Chris Hani District Municipality effects immediate repairs to the faulty pump house and maintains it adequately going forward.

In DA-led municipalities, this blatant disregard for the health and wellbeing of communities would never be tolerated. The DA is proud of our track record of being the best governing party in South Africa. This includes upgrading and maintaining infrastructure which ensures that not only are basic services delivered, but residents are able to live lives of value too.

Regards

Jane Cowley, MPL
Enoch Mgijima Constituency Leader

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Dear Edior

A DA government in the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality (IYM) will fight to force the Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) to return the water and sanitation competency to the local municipality.

Since 2014, the residents of Cradock and Middelburg have been subjected to the incompetence of the CHDM, which clearly does not possess the financial or human resources to provide basic water and sanitation services to our people. The Waste Water Treatment Plants in both Cradock and Middelburg are totally dysfunctional and, as a result, millions of litres of untreated sewage is being dumped into our rivers on a daily basis.

Dysfunctional sewage pump stations continue to expose our people to disease, as our streets and public open spaces are covered in sewage. Some of these pump stations have been dysfunctional for years without any attempt being made by the district authority to rectify the situation. The most basic function of reticulating potable water to residents is also proving to be a huge challenge to the CHDM.

Extended water outages often leave residents without potable water for days on end. The latest example is the community of Bergsig in Cradock who, for the umpteenth time this year, is experiencing an extended water outage for days.

The rendering of accounts by the CHDM has been equally challenging with most consumers having received incorrect accounts reflecting that they owe tens of thousands of rands to the municipality.

CHDM has proven that it is incapable of fulfilling its water and sanitation mandate in Cradock and Middelburg and must be forced to relinquish this competency as soon as possible.

There is hope, however. The DA is committed to fight tooth and nail to wrestle this municipality out of the hands of the ANC. When the DA takes over control of IYM after the municipal elections on 1 November 2021, we will do everything within our ability to have the water and sanitation competency returned to our local municipality.

Should the water and sanitation competency be returned to IYM a DA-led government will:

• Upgrade both Waste Water Treatments Plants in Cradock and Middelburg;
• Fix and refurbish broken sewage and water pump stations;
• Put in place a maintenance plan to maintain our water and sanitation infrastructure;
• Secure all pump stations against vandalism.

The DA will bring change to IYM. Together we can save our municipality so that all of us can move forward again.

Regards

Cllr Monde Desha
DA Inxuba Yethemba Mayoral Candidate

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Dear Editor

Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality was recently gifted R12-million in lights for use in areas in need of lighting. The donations emanated from Germany. The lights were placed in the municipal stores for “safe-keeping” until they were to be used. This property is supposedly guarded by GAP Security as part of a larger security tender costing the Municipality millions of rands per annum.

On Sunday night, 10 October 2021, 11 of the lights were stolen. This follows after a recent alleged theft of 200 metres of copper cable. Over the last few months many thefts have been perpetrated at the same site. (see picture here)

I have written to the Municipal Manager, Dr Edward Rankwana and the Director of Engineering and Planning to attempt to clarify the situation around the lights. I have asked whether or not the lights were insured, as well as the value of the lights that were stolen. I have also asked whether or not the Municipality is happy with the service of GAP Security and if not, what is being done to remedy this.

This Municipality is in dire straits financially. It cannot afford to replace these lights. Nor can it continue to pay for a service that appears to be woefully inadequate in protecting the assets of the municipality.

There is simply no excuse for not securing such a valuable gift and the likelihood of these donors donating more to Dr Beyers Naude in the future is now slim because the municipality has demonstrated that it cannot be trusted to look after its assets.

Under a Democratic Alliance government, we will demand value for money from service providers. We will also ensure that any donations made for the improvement of our communities will be treated with the requisite care. Because the DA gets things done.

Regards

Cllr Ewald Loock
DA Dr Beyers Naude Mayoral Candidate

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Dear Editor

Broken municipalities across the Eastern Cape that are led by a broken party are resulting in the collapse of services and the destruction of job opportunities.

The ongoing collapse of Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) facilities across the Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) continues to result in raw sewage spills polluting the environment and numerous freshwater sources. On a daily basis, people must navigate their way across rivers and dams of sewage, while the pollution of freshwater sources is wreaking havoc in the Great Fish River.

On Friday, 24 September 2021, I was joined by DA Inxuba Yethemba Mayoral Candidate, Cllr Monde Desha, in laying criminal charges against the CHDM Municipal Manager at the Cradock Police Station. The charges were laid against him in his capacity as accounting officer for the district. Charges were laid in terms of section 151 of the National Water Act for failure to adhere to non-compliance notices regarding pollution, and failure to act on directives issued by the National Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). According to the Act, this is an offence that could result in a fine and/or imprisonment. (see pictures here and here)

Information sourced by the DA from a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application, indicates that since 2017 non-compliance notices regarding pollution have been issued by the DWS in almost every town in the district. At least seven directives to stop pollution resulting from failing WWTW were issued. The PAIA application further revealed that at least eight freshwater rivers, of which one is the Fish River and others are tributaries to the Fish River, are being polluted by raw sewage.

The situation in CHDM is a result of allowing infrastructure to deteriorate to a point of complete collapse. It is clear that CHDM is either unwilling to deal with or incapable of dealing with this disaster of its own making. The water and sanitation function is best managed by local municipalities that have increased capacity to deal with issues that have a major health impact on communities in large districts.

Polluted water sources and raw sewage pose a massive health hazard to people living in this district and can, therefore, also have a far-reaching negative impact on the local economy.

The DA gets things done and DA governments have proved that they know how to deliver water and sanitation services.

In the DA-governed Kouga Municipality two brand new state-of-the-art waste water treatment works have been constructed since the DA took over in 2016. In Nelson Mandela Bay, where the DA governs with coalition partners, we have resolved more than 13 300 sewage complaints since 1 January 2021.

Our 2021 Local Government Elections Manifesto states that we will ensure that every community has access to reliable, clean, running water, that is safe to drink and to prepare food. And that there is no untreated waste water contaminating the environment, homes, streets, and sidewalks.

Because where the DA governs, we get things done.

Regards

Vicky Knoetze, MPL
DA EC Shadow MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA)

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Dear Editor

Today, 21 September 2021, I officially launched the DA’s Inxuba Yethemba Mayoral Campaign in Midros in Middelburg – a town which has become synonymous with more than two decades of corrupt, inept and uncaring ANC governance in the Inxuba Yethemba Municipality (IYM).

I was joined at the launch in the Midros Community Hall by EC Midlands Constituency Leader, Retief Odendaal, MPL, and Cllr Monde Desha, DA Inxuba Yethemba Mayoral Candidate. (see pictures here, here, here and here)

Towns like Cradock and Middelburg used to be the pride of rural Eastern Cape, but decades under an ANC government have seen these towns reduced to rubble and stripped of their former glory.

Residents have become accustomed to raw sewage flowing in the streets, massive potholes, rubbish not being collected and constant water and electricity outages.

The lack of service delivery has destroyed the local economy, and unemployment has sky-rocketed.

Our Mayoral Candidate will lead our troops into battle as we fight for good governance, service delivery and prosperity in IYM – all of which can be delivered under a DA government after we triumph on 1 November 2021 when we go to the polls for the Local Government Elections.

Cllr Desha is the right man for the job and has served as a DA councillor for six years and as caucus leader for five years. He will be joined by all our councillors and activist in traveling the length and breadth of IYM to interact with residents.

We believe we can win an outright majority in Inxuba Yethemba as a result of the complete neglect by the ANC and the work we have done over many years in this municipality.

When we take over the administration we will:

• Stop corruption;
• Institute a financial turnaround strategy;
• Implement an urgent maintenance plan for infrastructure;
• Fast-track service delivery to all communities;
• Fight to have water and sanitation competency returned to IYM.
• The DA wants to return towns like Cradock and Middelburg to their rightful place as economic hubs in the Eastern Cape Karoo. A DA government will focus on delivering quality services, appointing fit for purpose municipal staff and clamping down on corruption and maladministration within the municipality. We will create an enabling environment for business to thrive and address unemployment.

Only the DA is strong enough to beat the ANC in IYM and bring the change that residents deserve.

Together we can save our municipality, because where the DA governs, we get things done.

Regards

Andrew Whitfield, MP
DA Eastern Cape Provincial Chairperson

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