KNYSNA NEWS - After 50 years' involvement in South African politics, ill health has forced Richard Dawson (75) to resign as Knysna Municipal Ward 10 councillor, representing the Democratic Alliance (DA).
“It is with deep regret that, owing to my deteriorating state of health (caused by a leaking heart valve and knee problems), I have submitted my letter of resignation. I owe it to my constituents to be able to fulfil my role as their councillor in full, and because of my health issues it has become very difficult for me to fulfil these responsibilities adequately,” said Dawson.
His passion for true democracy was highlighted when, in August 2011, he got up from his bed at the Life Knysna Private Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to attend an important closed council meeting, still dressed in his pyjamas. “If I was not at the meeting it could not have been held,” Dawson said matter-of-factly.
Dawson ascribes his interest in politics to his upbringing. According to him, he grew up in a relatively poor part of Paarl during the 1940s where most of his friends were of mixed race.
While attending Dale College in the Eastern Cape, his circle of friends grew to include many black youths. “It was during this time that I started to question the justice of the apartheid policy of government and it sparked my fierce opposition to the discrimination against people of colour.”
“I took a vow to fight for the rights of all South Africans. I would not accept or tolerate the discrimination against people of colour which made them second-class citizens in all aspects of existence, and I was outraged by the mass removals enforced by the Group Areas Act as well as the draconian application of the Pass Laws, restricting the rights of workers to move freely in their own country.”
“I have always fought for true democracy in our country and my resignation does not end my passion for politics; it only means that I will no longer be at the coalface,” said a sad Dawson.
His political involvement started when Dawson was a Social Sciences student at the University of Cape Town where he joined the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) on the steps of Jameson Hall in a protest demonstration against apartheid-style public transport.
While studying for a Master’s Degree, Dawson remained involved in politics in the Cape, including District Six and the famous Hanover Street. These communities soon became subject to forced removals that saw the total demolition of their homes.
He then left for Pretoria for fixed employment in human resource management, and became a member of the Progressive Party. “I joined the Rissik branch committee with Daryll Moss and served right up to the first democratic elections of 1994. I was delegated to be at several party conferences until I moved to Knysna in 1995, where I continued to actively support the party.”
In 2006, Dawson was elected as DA Proportional Representative (PR) councillor and the DA chief whip of Knysna. He became the DA's campaign manager in Knysna during the 2009 national elections.
“I applied to be the DA candidate for Ward 10 in the 2011 municipal elections and was elected with the highest percentage of the poll in Knysna,” said Dawson. He was elected as speaker for the first eight months and instituted the first viable ward committee system. “After a reshuffle by the mayor, I continued as the Ward 10 councillor which gave me more scope for detailed attention to local issues.”
Although Dawson has now formally resigned, he promised his constituents that he would continue to fight for true democracy in South Africa.
“I will miss my daily contact with the people that I eagerly served. I will always help where possible and my constituents know that they will always have my ear. The timing of my retirement is to make allowance for the by-election that must follow.” concluded Dawson.
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