In what can be seen as one of the darkest weeks in the ongoing Swellendam Municipal power struggle, the South African Police Service (SAPS) had their hands full taking statements from the respective groupings.
As things stand News62 is not at liberty to share the seriousness or content of the various cases that were opened – these matters need to first be heard in court before it enters the public domain – we can disclose that what started as a mudslinging match has become a full scale war.
Taking no prisoners
The charge to have Swellendam Municipality’s Speaker, Juan Van Schalkwyk, removed continued in ernst this week with those opposed to his leadership going the extra mile to uncover dirt on the man who currently holds the most important seat in the municipality.
The extra mile turned out to be a 1000km road trip aimed at uncovering more dirt on Van Schalkwyk. Whether any significant prosecutable information was found, remains to be seen.
As expected, Van Schalkwyk, this week also retaliated by laying criminal charges against the grouping that has publicly called for his removal.
In response to this Van Schalwyk’s adversaries lost the moral high ground they may have enjoyed by throwing an innocent individual to the wolves.
Again, the exact details of these various accusations will only be revealed once the respective parties make their first court appearances.
In the meantime the Council should this week reveal the findings into an independent investigation into misconduct.
Political Scorecard:
- Democratic Alliance: 2
- Freedom Front Plus: 2
- African National Congress: 2
- Patriotic Alliance: 3
- The Community: 0
Editorial Comment:
If we any of these politicians thought there would be a clear winner at the end of this battle, they were mistaken.
There will only be losers and the biggest loser of them all is Joe Public who has to watch how time and energy that could have been spent on improving this region, has been consumed by vendettas, accusations and behavior unbefitting to publicly elected officials.
One thing 90% of these politicians and community leaders have in common is that they claim to be religious volk. They all claim to be doing the work of God and yet, their actions (this week in particular) has not reflected that of the love and goodness that is preached from the pulpit every Sunday.
I can confirm that there are a handful of councillors and community leaders who walk the talk. The majority however, have lost their moral compass completely.
It is no longer a fight for the people, but a battle of inflated egos.
As I’m writing this, I also know that Joe Public is starting to care less and less about these political tricks and underhanded tactics.
We deserves beter so can the real leaders, the men and women who are not in this for political gain, please stand up!