GOOD Statement by Cynthia Clayton, GOOD Theewaterskloof Councillor & Deputy Mayor:
According to an emailed “request” from the (DA) Mayor of Theewaterskloof to the Municipal Manager, copied to the (GOOD Party) Deputy Mayor, the council no longer wants to attend to water or sewerage leaks outside of office hours.
The mayor’s “request” was not discussed with the DA’s coalition partners or shared in the Mayoral Committee. If implemented, the “request” will severely prejudice communities already suffering the effects of poor water and sewerage service delivery and therefore do not have the GOOD Party’s support.
The GOOD Party responded to the Mayor by questioning his powers to interfere in administrative matters and requesting that his “requests” be discussed with the DA’s coalition partners and in the Mayoral Committee prior to implementation. Most communities in the district were already suffering the effects of poor water and sewerage service delivery.
GOOD also addressed a communique to the DA’s Western Cape leader to formally record its displeasure.
The Theewaterskloof Municipality is based in the south-western Cape. The Mayor wants residents of eight towns to adjust to the downgrade in service provision. Residents of affluent Greyton, who invested in high value properties in a pristine environment, may feel particularly let down.
Mayor Lincoln de Bruyn’s email dated 6 March 2026 requests Municipal Manager GW Hermanus to make no staff appointments without his authorisation, or that of the Mayoral Committee, and to drastically cut overtime pay. “Only officials responding to emergencies, in extreme circumstances, may claim overtime.”
De Bruyn goes on to specifically exclude sewerage blockages and water leaks from receiving after-hours attention: “Please ask the Media Liaison Officer to inform the TWK community that no water leakages or sewerage blockages will be repaired after hours.”
The email was copied to Deputy Mayor Cynthia Clayton.
“Whether you live in Greyton or Caledon or Grabouw, in a country home or a shack, if there’s sewerage left to run in the streets overnight or over the weekend, it’s a clear sign of a municipality that’s failing to perform its most basic functions,” Clayton said.
GOOD Support for SMEs: GOOD promotes policies that support small and medium-sized enterprises.
Slinger
Ag man! [Ach-man] This is the Afrikaans equivalent to “Oh man!” and is often used at the beginning of a sentence to express pity, resignation or irritation.Example: “Ag, man!” / “Ag, no man!” / “Ag, shame man!”
Skool
Fun South African Fact: SA has three capital cities: Pretoria is the Executive Capital, Cape Town the Legislative Capital and Bloemfontein the judicial Capital.