GOOD Statement by Keagen Gertse,
GOOD Drakenstein Councillor & Caucus Chairperson
5 December 2025
The GOOD Party in Drakenstein Municipality has written to the Speaker of Council, Alderman Koos Le Roux, raising concerns about ward project allocations, specifically an allocation in ward 14 where ward councillor Brenda van Willingh allegedly spent R20,000 on t-shirts for 10 ward committee members. In addition, many wards in Drakenstein allocated R5,000 towards ward committees for stationery.
The Municipal Structures Act, 1998, places the responsibility on the Municipality to budget for out-of-pocket expenses relating to the optimal functioning of ward committees. However, considering that these individuals do not occupy offices, GOOD wishes to see receipts for this spent and requests answers on how and when such stationery was procured and used.
In terms of the ward projections and the 2024/2025 ward allocations, spending R20 000.00 on t-shirts for 10 ward committee members is unjustifiable. GOOD believes that no directive exists which gives ward councillors the right to even consider procuring items of clothing for committee members to be identified and ultimately function within their respective positions.
What further fuels GOOD’s discomfort is that on 26 November 2025, General Council Sitting, GOOD voted against the Ward Projects Policy, as we believe the policy in its current form disallows the council to scrutinise ward funds that were used in previous financial years and bars the council from holding organisations accountable that handled these funds.
GOOD questioned the R20,000 worth of T-shirts to the Community Services Portfolio Committee. We were subsequently informed that we need to wait for the Audited Financial Statements of the organisation, in this instance Miqlat, to further probe these concerns. Considering that the Audited Statements will not be due for at least another six-plus months, and as was confirmed in Council, this limits our ability to question this expenditure in real-time.
We simply cannot accept this spending in its current form and, not probe, scrutinise, or vie for accountability.
We need urgent answers to this exorbitant spending as the money could have been used elsewhere to have a more meaningful impact on communities across various sectors, such as sports, arts and culture, development, safety and security. R20,000 for T-shirts simply does not make the cut on a ward priority list and should not have been part of the ward allocations in the first place.
GOOD will not rest until we have a breakdown of how these monies were spent, the amounts paid to service providers, outside of Miqlat, NFC and other organisations that benefit, largely from ward allocations, at the expense of other community organisations who already operate on the ward level and are better positioned to serve their communities.
GOOD has called on Drakenstein before to empower ward-based NGOs and NPOs and not to enforce a one-size-fits-all model where outside actors come in and scoop up the biggest pieces of the pie. This position disenfranchises the very people it is meant to help and develop.
Media Enquiries: media@forgood.org.za