KNYSNA NEWS - The Knysna municipality and the acting municipal manager have been sent lawyers' letters by The Accountability Group (TAG ) relating to the rates dispute and lease of the Knysna Mall.
Lawyers for TAG, a non-party political action group, sent the letters on 15 August relating to the motion of no confidence in the mayor by the Knysna Independent Movement (KIM) over the writing off of debt relating to Grey Elephant Investments (GEI), the Rex Hotel and the Gallery Body Corporate, as well as a request for a copy of the lease between the municipality and Knysna Mall.
TAG said it deemed two letters, one allegedly by the mayor and the other allegedly by the acting municipal manager relating to the debt write-off, to be "flawed and patently unlawful", listing its reasons.
TAG demands an explanation of why certain processes were not followed and seeks an undertaking that no monies are written off "unless and until due processes have been followed".
Court action
Unless the municipality provides such undertakings within seven days, TAG will launch a court action to compel it to follow the processes contained in the municipality's debt collections policies.
A second letter from TAG, by attorneys Kaplan Bloomberg & Sonn & Associates, demanded the municipality complies with provisions of the Municipal Systems Act, MFMA and policies adopted by the municipality in May, otherwise face legal action.
It said a PAIA application lodged by advocate Julie Lopes requesting a copy of the lease agreement between the municipality and Knysna Mall, owned by GEI, was refused by the acting municipal manager "because it is subject to an ongoing investigation".
Included in TAG's demand is that the municipality make no further payment to GEI until the validity of the lease agreement has been determined.
If they do not get this undertaking, an urgent High Court action could follow - lawyers will seek urgent relief from the High Court.
'Fresh elections'
In another development the DA in Knysna has tabled a motion to dissolve the Knysna municipal council to allow for "fresh elections".
DA constituency head for Knysna, Ryan Smith said the motion was the only remedy to the "over-fragmentation of the current council make-up", which he said had rendered it impossible to elect and sustain a stable majority government in Knysna.
"We have considered every potential configuration under the current council make-up, and there is simply no pathway to a stable majority government for Knysna.
"The only way to rescue Knysna is for fresh elections to be held where a clear DA majority can be elected that will no longer be vulnerable to instability as a result of the political opportunism and self-interest of unreliable coalition partners.
"In addition, the motion seeks to bring an end to the current ANC/PBI/PA/EFF coalition which has ushered in the rapid collapse of service delivery in Knysna, inflicting untold damage on both its residents and the surrounding environment."
He said this included a dramatic drop in water quality and supply, electricity outages, the collapse of refuse removal and sewerage and waste water management, which "have placed the very lives of Knysna's residents at peril".
'Levels of E-coli'
"Over the past weeks, the levels of E-coli in the Knysna lagoon have exponentially surpassed acceptable levels due to the unchecked flow of raw sewerage into Knysna's lagoon and estuary. With pollution levels so elevated, it is likely that Knysna will lose its blue flag status ahead of the 2024 high season, severely impacting the once-thriving local tourism economy," said Smith
KIM said in response that it did not understand what the DA hopes to achieve with this motion.
"For their motion to succeed, it would require the support of two-thirds of the councillors. Even with our support, the motion has no realistic chance of succeeding," said KIM.
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
