“Expecting a political party to be honest and altruistic is as useful as a conversation with a cow. I’ve got nothing against cows but I’m adverse to the Knysna Council Chamber. Politicians called councillors still meet there to moo or deny the recommendations of municipal officials. The decisions I witnessed were not always in our best interest.

An impartial person might consider the Council Chamber conservatively tasteful but I spent too many years making my arse sore in the Public gallery. I found the photos of Government leaders adorning the walls as appealing as the heads of animals shot by colonialists. And to have a photo of Helen Zille beside Jacob Zuma was as hilarious as coughing.

I observed incompetency, stupidity and selfishness in between a millions hours of boredom. There were occasions where it ran from morning to night. And I had to stick around because the Municipality would often put the most important items late in the agenda so that the people who cared the most wouldn’t witness it, having had to leave for work, fetch the kids etc.

Diligence gave me stories. Clues made rumours into soup, soup became blogs and complaints. I did my best to do what no one else seemed to have done before, to keep the Public of Knysna informed. Activism had become a full-time job without pay…”

Those words were from ‘Same Shit, Different Government: Book 1 – The Corruption & The Intimidation’. The book will be released in digital format for R200 on April Fool’s Day 2019, South Africa’s national holiday for politicians. Subscribe for free and be notified of a R50 discount during the first week of sales.

Subscribe to receive 11 free samples from the book, one in your email box every day.

#samepoo #dacorruption #themikehampton