Michelle Wasserman questions spending on safe houses for Councillors
DA councillor Michelle Wasserman in her personal blog said on 6 August 2020 the ANC, COPE, KUC and the ACDP voted together to approve the designation of 4 council-owned properties as safe houses for councillors (and, where appropriate, municipal officials) “in the event where an imminent threat to their person or property, as a result of unrest and community protests, has been identified.”
The Acting Municipal Manager Dr Louis Scheepers was authorised to immediately proceed with the procurement of furniture and undertaking the necessary security upgrades to the properties.
The funding for the furniture and security upgrades will come out of existing operational budgets. Provision will also be made in an adjustment budget for additional funds for furniture and the security upgrades.
The DA argued that it is probably unlawful for Council to spend money on safe houses and furniture for councillors when the Determination Of Upper Limits Of Salaries, Allowances And Benefits Of Different Members Of Municipal Councils (Notice No.43246) only allows accommodation and furniture (“where it currently exists”) to be made available to full-time Executive Mayors or Mayors – and I believe that it is unconscionable, at a time when so many people have lost their incomes and jobs, and when businesses all over Knysna are closing, that public funding should be spent on furnishing and securing council properties for use by municipal councillors and officials.
The financial position of Council is dire and the Council cannot afford this expenditure. With revenue collection expected to be extremely low given the financial position of residents, the Council should be saving every cent, rather than spending money on furniture and security.
DA councillors argued that it is excessive to allocate, furnish and secure four properties as safe houses. If a place of safety is necessary, surely one safe house would be enough?
The COPE, ANC, KUC and ACDP councillors, however, argued that councillors’ safety must be the primary concern and outvoted the DA – thereby approving the recommendation that 4 council-owned properties would be furnished, secured and designated as safe houses for councillors and, where appropriate, officials.
The item recommending the designation of council properties as safe houses initially came to Council as an “in-committee item”. Also called an item “on green pages”, this means that the agenda item, and also the debate on the item, is confidential and closed to the public. Where items are open to the public, the item is referred to as being “on white pages”.
The DA argued that the public has a Constitutional right to know what Council does with its properties and also what it spends public funds on. The DA agreed that it was reasonable to keep the addresses / locations of the safe houses confidential, but that the public should have access to all other information regarding this matter, including the Council debate thereon.
The Acting Municipal Manager agreed with the DA that there was no problem at all with Council conducting the debate in the open session as long as the locations of the properties were not mentioned.
The ANC and KUC, on the other hand, argued that the debate should be confidential and the ANC Speaker, Cllr Titi Gombo, ruled that the public would be excluded from the debate. It was agreed, however, that the agenda item document could be made public, with the location information redacted.
Executive Mayor Ricky van Aswegen said the intention behind this is to ensure the safety of councillors and their families should their lives and property be in danger, and to do more affordably than what happened in the past.
“Knysna Municipality unfortunately in the recent past experienced the tragic loss of one of its councillors, who was murdered. In the aftermath of this tragedy, two councillors had to be evacuated and provided with safe accommodation. This cost the municipality in excess of R600,000, plus the cost of personal security at more than R1,000,000,” he said
Van Aswegen said that there has been an increase in protest action.
“Protests often have a political undertone and councillors have been threatened. As the unfortunate assassination of Victor Molosi showed us we cannot underestimate these threats. The value of life will always outweigh any monetary commitments to ensure the safety of the Councillors and our staff,” he said.
He said up to now private accommodation was arranged at a considerable cost to the council.
“In the long term it will be more cost-effective to have our own dedicated safe houses and properties that meet the relevant criteria have been identified and will be converted to match required safety specifications,” said Van Aswegen.
He said the Upper Limits of salaries, allowances and benefits of Councillors Notice No.43246 published on 24 April 2020, makes provision for official accommodation and furniture for full-time Councillors. Provision is also made for personal security for Councillors, subject to a threat risk analyses by the South African Police Service.
Council speaker Mertie Gombo the item was in in-committee because of the security of councillors.
“It is now in the public domain without the names of the properties. This proposal was on the table after councillor Victor Molosi’s death. Council spent a lot of money on the security of councillors at that time and we can never compare money with people’s lives. These properties will definitely be used as short time rentals if not in use,” she said.
‘We bring you the latest Knysna | Garden Route news’
Read more article on Knysna Plett Herald News