GEORGE NEWS - In a surprise move George Mayor Charles Standers has informed the DA that his resignation will take effect immediately.

 

Announcing his resignation yesterday he said that he would serve out his term until after the election on 3 August. Standers said he is handing in his resignation with immediate effect in the context of the large media interest in his resignation.

 

Meanwhile the ANC in George has called an urgent press conference where it is expected that they will announce that Standers is joining the party.

 

Standers can still get a seat in the George council on an ANC ticket through a proportional seat, but it could also be that the ANC would merely announce their support for Standers as part of the volatile party politics that made headlines the past week.

 

The leader of the DA ‘s Eastern Region that includes George, Jaco Londt, told the George Herald that it says a lot about an individual when just 24 hours after saying he would serve out his term, he resigns with immediate effect from his position.

 

“Standers is currently under investigation for financial irregularities and was recently under investigation for allegedly assaulting his wife. We, the DA, expect him to join the ANC where likeminded individuals like Jacob Zuma and Marius Fransman will welcome him into the fold.

 

“The DA and the ANC each have a set of principles and values and this helps with the realignment of politics so that those with the same values and principles end up in the same party.”

 

Regarding Standers’s allegations of political interference, corruption and racism against the DA, Londt said: ”These allegations are devoid of any truth and are completely unfounded. It is the desperate attempt of a man under disciplinary investigation.”

 
ANC responds:

In reaction the Western Cape ANC has issued a press release saying the DA abuses differing views within their ranks through purging or forced resignations, the paranoia of a party that exists to protect closet racists.

"Stander is correct about DA's interference in the affairs of the municipalities it runs to serve party interests. Democratic Alliance has always used disingenuous recruitment tools for blacks and colored’s into the party ranks, as a means to serve DA' desired ends misusing municipality resources.

"From this perspective, it’s clear to see where the fault lines start, when those recruited under these pretenses gets strangled by politics to serve a particular Agenda. The DA has to be upfront with all Africans and Coloreds they recruit, that working at a DA run City is a quid pro quo exercise that ends up demanding of people to betray their values and their people to serve particular cliques.

"Stander is correct that the Democratic Alliance is extremely corrupt. They create an impression of Municipality's that are economically conservative and free of corruption, but in reality, the party is slowly crippling itself into a party that manipulates and controls these municipalities to serve white party politics. Stander has clearly had enough.

"We are going to follow very closely the matters raised by Standers about this municipality and when we are satisfied, an Investigation will have to be instituted."