GOOD Statement by Keagen Gertse,
GOOD Drakenstein Municipality Councillor
16 June 2026
On 14 May 2026 the GOOD Party engaged political and executive leadership of the Public Safety Portfolio Committee after receiving a complaint from a community member regarding the cleaning of the Berg River. Waterways such as the Berg River require consistent, year-on-year weed removal, vegetation rehabilitation and sediment removal to restore its health and ensure that the river does not break its banks and flood surrounding areas. Something the Berg River is infamously known for.
In our Portfolio Committee exchange, GOOD proposed that Drakenstein takes charge of this challenge by ensuring that the river is regularly cleaned and restored. In addition, the municipality engages with the national Minister of Water and Sanitation to raise awareness around the current state of the river and for the national department to assist the municipality in this process; considering that all major and minor rivers, lakes, estuaries and other critical water bodies fall under the authority of the national government.
The GOOD Party is happy to report that on 8 June 2026 Executive Director, Eda Barnard, reported back to the Committee that the Departments of Public Safety and Engineering Services are now actively seeking budget availability for the 2026/2027 financial year to personally take responsibility for the cleaning of the Berg River going forward and by doing so, combat yearly flooding that destroys lives and livelihoods along the river banks.
This is a win for collaborative governance where policy ideas from opposition parties are successful in developing policy and becoming solutions that better benefit the lives of the people within the municipality, province or the country.
Environmental justice is a founding pillar of the GOOD Party’s political offering to residents, and it remains a critical element in our governance structure.
Creating a healthy environment for water to flow, especially when adverse winter rain seems to destroy everything in its path, will assist the municipality to limit much of the flood damage and utilise its critical resources elsewhere when these environmental challenges occur.
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