GOOD Statement by Chantelle Kyd, GOOD George Municipality Councillor:
The GOOD Party has once again submitted formal written questions to the Council following the continued failure of the DA/FF+/ACDP-led Executive in the George Municipality to act on urgent relief for backyard dwellers.
Four months after GOOD tabled a motion calling for immediate and practical interventions for backyard dwellers, there is still no report, no council item, and no evidence of implementation despite the DA having opposed the motion on the basis that the work was allegedly already underway.
At the time, the then Deputy Mayor, now the Executive Mayor, assured Council that the proposals amounted to duplication. Those assurances have since collapsed under scrutiny, with no tangible outcomes to show for them.
Backyard dwellers continue to live in unsafe, overcrowded, and undignified conditions, while the Executive relies on vague claims instead of delivering real solutions.
The GOOD Party is now calling on the Executive Mayor to act immediately and without further delay by:
- Tabling a formal report to Council on backyard dweller relief;
- Implementing standard building plans at no or minimal cost; and
- Deploying in-house architectural and technical capacity, as previously claimed by the Executive.
Council oversight cannot be reduced to verbal assurances, and communities cannot be expected to survive on promises that never translate into action.
Council oversight cannot be reduced to verbal assurances, and communities cannot be expected to survive on promises that never translate into action.
Adding insult to injury, backyard dwellers, many of whom cannot afford basic compliance costs, continue to be issued with fines, often in a manner that appears selective and punitive, while the very relief measures promised by the Executive remain undelivered. The DA-led Executive cannot, on the one hand, claim to be “busy with processes” and, on the other, continue to penalise vulnerable residents.
If the DA genuinely believes it is delivering for backyard dwellers, it must now prove it on paper, in Council, and in affected communities.
If the Executive fails to act, it will confirm what communities already fear: that backyard dwellers are once again being used as talking points instead of being treated with dignity.
The GOOD Party will continue to exert pressure through Council and public oversight until the DA delivers real and measurable relief for backyard dwellers.
GOOD Public Health: The party emphasizes the importance of public health initiatives.
Hoover Spark
Is SA\’s former President, Jacob Zuma still a free man?
Y0dler
A South African, an Australian and an Englishman are all having a drink
The Englishman and South African both drink from Pint Glasses, the Australian from a bottle.
The South African, upon draining his glass, drops in back down on the bar, pulls out a pistol, and shoots the glass.
\”In South Africa, there is so much sand that I never drink from the same glass twice!\”
The Australian, having drained his bottle, sets it down upon the bar and, upon seizing the South African\’s pistol, shoots his bottle.
\”In Australia, there is so much booze that I never drink from the same brand twice!\”
The Englishman, likewise having drained his glass, sets his glass upon the table, seizes the pistol the pistol from the Australian, and shoots the South African and the Australian, quite dead.
\”In England, there are so many of you bastards that I never drink with the same two twice!\”