GOOD Statement by Keagen Gertse, GOOD Drakenstein Councillor & Caucus Whip:
The GOOD Party in Drakenstein Municipality is appalled that the DA caucus voted against awarding a Community Hall lease to a reputable Non-Profit Organisation that is delivering essential community services in Ward 11 and surrounding areas. The DA has attempted to disguise this decision as a concern for the safety of Safmarine Hall’s occupants but this is political expediency, plain and simple.
The organisation, Community Youth and Family Service, has already invested its own funds into the facility’s upkeep and upgrades after assurances that they would receive the lease to continue their work. Their programmes, including sports activities, drug-intervention support, ID application assistance, and other social services, are valued and supported by local community formations and have direct benefits for residents of Van Wyksvlei. The NPO also has links to the United Nations.
GOOD raised further concern over a clause in the leasing agreement that would allow DA Ward Councillors in Wards 7 and 11 to establish offices inside Safmarine Hall. GOOD has, since February 2024, requested that all Drakenstein councillors be granted cubicle space at the Civic Centre to ensure fair access to workspaces and improved service delivery. This was rejected on the grounds that councillors’ home addresses serve as their official offices under the Income Tax Act.
The inconsistency in DA governance is alarming. Now, DA councillors expect Municipal resources to be used for their own political benefit, including fully maintained offices, despite already receiving generous allowances for tools of trade. This amounts to fruitless and wasteful expenditure and undermines clean governance and accountability.
GOOD voted against the recommendation to block the lease because we need more organisations stepping up to rebuild communities ravaged by gangsterism, crime, and addiction – not fewer. Communities deserve access to services that offer hope, dignity, and real change.
Today, the DA showed who they truly are: willing to deny life-changing support to poor communities in order to protect their own political interests.
GOOD Transport: The party supports improvements in public transport infrastructure.
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