Good also wants to share the secrets

GEORGE NEWS - The Good party has lodged a complaint against George Mayor Leon van Wyk following a statement by the municipality which details council resolutions on a confidential Council item.

The statement was released on Wednesday afternoon, 2 December, shortly after Council deliberated requests from Municipal Manager Trevor Botha and Director of Community Services Walter Hendricks, that their contracts with George Municipality be terminated.

Van Wyk announced that Council respectively approved all-inclusive ten month (Botha) and five month (Hendricks) severance packages as full and final settlements for the two senior officials.

Both officials' employment agreements with the municipality cease with immediate effect.

According to Good's newly elected representative in Council, Richard Hector, the mayor has breached the rules of conduct by releasing a statement on the matter to the press.

"The matter was deemed confidential in terms of the Rules of Order of the George Council and this prohibits that the matter be shared or discussed with any person other than those in an official capacity," said Hector in a statement released by his party yesterday afternoon.

In addition, Hector is disgruntled with Speaker Gerrit Pretorius, whom he said has refused Good's request to make the matter publicly available.

"At the conclusion of the debate and the vote, and after the matter had been dealt with by the Council, I motivated that the Speaker move the item from the confidential agenda to the open agenda in the public interest and in the interest of transparency," said Hector.

"If the DA Mayor is able to communicate about the confidential matter debated in Council, then other parties who participated and voted on the matter should be able to do so as well."

Only resolutions made public
Asked for comment on the matter, Municipal Spokesperson Chantel Edwards-Klose said Pretorius has responded to Cllr Hector in writing, noting the following: "The Executive Mayor [Leon van Wyk] acted within the delegation afforded to him in issuing a press release without detailing the item/and or council discussion thereon and only providing the resolved decisions taken."

"Personnel matters are always regarded as confidential in council agendas and as per Rule 8.4 of the Rules of Order, the Speaker is not permitted, without receipt of suitable motivation, to unilaterally declassify agenda documents or move the same between confidential and the open agenda after the matter was considered and resolved by Council as confidential.
No such suitable motivation was received prior to tabling of the confidential item."

Opinions
On a request for comment on the item itself, Hector said the Good party is of the opinion that the community should be completely informed of the confidential items.

“On two occasions Good requested the Speaker to move the items from confidential to open items, in order avail the truth to the community of George. However it remain confidential items and therefore Good will not be able to respond at this time.”

Icosa’s provincial spokesperson Dawid Kamfer said their party wants to know what lies behind the sudden resignations of the two senior officials charged with alleged fraud.

“A few months ago there was an item on the agenda where some officials asked Council’s help with their legal costs. Icosa asked how anyone can be charged with corruption and then request that taxpayers' money be used to defend them. The DA removed the item from the agenda,” said Kamfer.

“Now, a few months later, the DA agrees to pay them out before the cases against them are settled.”

Leon van Wyk