Knysna DA maintains: no infighting or factionalism
Donovan Pofadder could fee! the heat and could not handle the rage of his ward residents because of his poor performance, and he is confusing it with infighting within the DA in Knysna.
This is according to DA Knysna constituency head Dr Dion George, who said “there is no infighting in the party”, and also denied former DA member and Ward 11 councillor Donovan Pofadder’s claims of internal strife, which Pofadder cited as his rationale for resigning from the council and the party.
On October 15, Knysna municipal manager Dr Sitembele Vatala received a resignation letter from Pofadder stating that he was leaving the seat with immediate effect.
In the letter, the former councillor articulated: “The current political climate also played a role in this decision. The relationship with my constituents and the people in my ward has become strenuous.
“I feel strongly that we as a party lost focus on what is important, while infighting within our ranks was taking priority.”
He [Pofadder] also said the manner in which the party was treating former Knysna mayor Mark Willemse further spurred his decision to resign.
Meanwhile, George blames Pofadder’s under-performance in his role as councillor, saying that this culminated in the rage of his former ward residents. He said the DA welcomed his resignation and wished him well in his future endeavours.
“He’d been given a mandate by the DA and he failed to deliver. He has been underperforming in his role and that resulted in the ward residents taking out their rage on him.
“We understand it was his first term in a ward councillor position, and he could not handle the heat. We are looking for a suitable candidate to fill the position. We are confident that the DA will win back the ward during the by-election, and will win Knysna outright come 2021.
“We wish him well, he’s a nice guy, we like him,” said George. However, the community-based organisation Knysna United, in a press release, praised Pofadder for his decision, saying he had “broken out from the web of lies”, and that he told Knysna United he could not lie to people anymore.
The by-election date has not yet been set by the IEC, but local political parties have started calling for nominations for suitable candidates for the vacant position.
Source: Knysna Plett Herald News