Don’t bully us, and do use correct channels of communication, urges Knysna mayor
Mayor Elrick van Aswegen on Monday asked residents to use the right communication channels created for enquiries, complaints and interaction with Knysna Municipality.
“We’ve had an increase in residents contacting municipal staff directly rather than using the dedicated channels. More than 1,000 staff work in the organisation and deal with enquiries on diverse topics. Council has approved a communication structure to ensure transparency and accountability.”
Van Aswegen said he was shocked by the way certain residents interact with municipal staff, who are being victimised and bullied and. understandably, this negatively impacts their work.
“It is not in the interest of the community or officials to be attacked, threatened and treated with suspicion.
“We have lost excellent officials in the process and risk that highly-qualified individuals do not apply for vacant positions due to rumours that create a bad reputation of the town and the municipality.”
He added that all allegations of fraud and misconduct were investigated.
“We do not turn a blind eye to corruption, but evidence must be provided. We cannot act on hearsay and have to follow procedures as set out in relevant legislation. These matters take time.” he said.
“Victimising our municipal staff create a stressful, non-motivational environment that affects service delivery. Municipal employees are also Knysna residents, and they have the whole town’s wellbeing at heart.”
Email knysna@knysna.gov.za and report corruption by visiting http://knysna.community.me to download the free mobile app.