The response to the survivors of the Knysna Fire is to not help him. The Disaster Feedback Meeting was a disaster for Deputy Mayor Peter Myers and the Democratic Alliance. There was immense dissatisfaction, assuring several hundred people will never vote for him again.

However, he’s chosen to lie about what happened, pretending that that majority supported him and that our justified objections came from an unreasonable minority.

He conveniently forgets he and I previously had a polite meeting in which we discussed victim necessities and other things off the record. The outcome of that meeting was nothing, probably just a tactic to delay criticism. He then holds a public meeting expecting those in desperate need to accept that our government isn’t going to help and that he supports their decision – WTF.

If there was a problem in that meeting it’s that people were too ‘civilised’ – far too far from being a protest, central Knysna residents needing to learn to stand up for themselves.

That Myers labels middle class and lower-class white people made homeless by the fire, asking for help and not getting any, as a ‘lynch mob’ is unforgivable. Hundreds who were there will know that his Facebook post is propaganda:

“Good morning, last night I had arranged a meeting to report back to residents of ward 10 on the many questions, which had been raised by them in recent weeks regarding the fire disaster. I expected a serious question and answer session from people who understood the extend of the disaster and were genuinely interested in the real and honest solutions that are being worked on by the municipality. Most people understood this and conducted themselves accordingly. However, a small minority, many of who have been unfairly criticizing me for the two years I have been in office, decided to turn themselves into a lynch mob. In view of what I was trying to achieve, this was disgraceful, and did not allow those who needed to interact with me in a proper fashion to do so. I have been criticized and that’s fine, but to be treated in such a disrespectful and disgraceful manner, by the few who came looking for a fight, is unacceptable. I remain committed to finding realistic solutions to our very challenging problems and I’m always available to be contacted personally at the municipality, and I urge any of those with any remaining concerns to do so.