The people responsible for setting fire to the Swellendam Municipality and closing the N2, among other outrages today, must be condemned in the strongest terms.
They must be identified, arrested and prosecuted. South Africans must know that such criminality will not be tolerated, and that the criminal justice system is up to its task.
The Swellendam Municipality must be equally condemned for its unwillingness to listen to the community’s anger about the costs of basic services, and at least give the impression that it gives a damn about Black people.
Swellendam is among many DA-led Western Cape municipalities that are intrinsically verkrampt. They trade in identity politics, deliberately dividing communities of colour.
Their strategy is repulsive and unsustainable.
Elsewhere in the country, communities are marching on ANC-led municipalities and damaging property because of mismanagement.
Western Cape municipalities pride themselves on their audit results. They should have the emotional intelligence to know that clean audits will amount to nothing if they don’t work for all the people – and the people burn the building down.
Media Enquiries:
Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
Cell: 082 518 3264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za
Samantha Jackson, GOOD Acting Media Manager
Cell: 083 550 9875
Email: media@forgood.org.za