He attributed the violence to resistance to a council policy requiring indigent households to apply for subsidised services.
“The purpose of this is to ensure that only indigent households get the subsidy and the system is not abused by those who do not qualify for this support. This policy is necessary because the unmanaged access to indigent subsidies by residents who do not qualify for them will bankrupt the municipality.
“We cannot allow this situation to arise because this will destroy our capacity to deliver municipal services.”
The DA’s political opponents were spreading false rumours that the registration process would prevent people getting subsidised services, he said.
“The incitement of the community, based on a falsehood, has led to the destruction of our municipal precinct, which means service delivery will be severely compromised, with call centres now unavailable to attend to service delivery needs, leaving municipal employees without a dedicated workplace to serve residents.
“The municipality has been discussing this matter with representatives of the community for several days but could not accede to the demands which would have bankrupted the municipality.
“The demand on the municipality is that it must guarantee unconditional, unchecked automatic registration, which is no longer logistically possible and will inevitably lead to fraud and corruption.”
TimesLIVE
'This is an act of terror': mayor condemns protests in Swellendam
Image: Swellendam municipality/Facebook
Swellendam mayor Francois du Rand has condemned the riots and looting that rocked the historic town on Wednesday as an “act of terror” aimed at holding the municipality hostage.
The municipal offices were gutted by fire and at least 64 people were arrested by police in the town about 220km east of Cape Town.
“I condemn the attack on our town this morning [Wednesday] that resulted in the scorching of our entire municipal building. This is an act of terror perpetrated by criminals seeking to hold the municipality hostage. It is evident that the fire that has engulfed our municipal building is a direct result of arson,” said Du Rand.
He attributed the violence to resistance to a council policy requiring indigent households to apply for subsidised services.
“The purpose of this is to ensure that only indigent households get the subsidy and the system is not abused by those who do not qualify for this support. This policy is necessary because the unmanaged access to indigent subsidies by residents who do not qualify for them will bankrupt the municipality.
“We cannot allow this situation to arise because this will destroy our capacity to deliver municipal services.”
The DA’s political opponents were spreading false rumours that the registration process would prevent people getting subsidised services, he said.
“The incitement of the community, based on a falsehood, has led to the destruction of our municipal precinct, which means service delivery will be severely compromised, with call centres now unavailable to attend to service delivery needs, leaving municipal employees without a dedicated workplace to serve residents.
“The municipality has been discussing this matter with representatives of the community for several days but could not accede to the demands which would have bankrupted the municipality.
“The demand on the municipality is that it must guarantee unconditional, unchecked automatic registration, which is no longer logistically possible and will inevitably lead to fraud and corruption.”
TimesLIVE
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