It’s a classic marketing tactic in a bad situation: LOOK AT THIS… SO YOU DON’T LOOK WHERE IT MATTERS. Is that what the Knysna-Plett Herald did with its front page this week?

It’s my opinion that the Knysna-Plett Herald has shamefully brought up old news to distract from my battle to gain transparency from Mayor Eleonore Bouw-Spies.

This month, no story in our town was remotely close in size to the questionable untendered contracting of Fran Kirsten to run the Knysna Municipality’s Communications Department. Is it a coincidence that Kirsten is most known for her articles written for the Knysna-Plett Herald?

On the Love Knysna Facebook page, my letter to the Mayor regarding the issue has been seen 13,000 times so far. On Knysna Keep, it’s the most read blog of the month.

The newspaper had all the info they needed. They even delayed the story a week to “get it right”.

Editor Elaine King stated the newspaper was publishing the Mayor’s press release against me and would, bizarrely (because I’m treated unfairly), allow me response. Neither appeared. IS THAT BECAUSE THEY DON’T WANT MY RESPONSE SEEN?

But the Mayor’s press release has been on the newspaper’s website for 4 days!

In a town with non-stop scandals, why doesn’t the Knysna-Plett Herald print the whole truth when it involves the Democratic Alliance?

There was the simultaneous propaganda campaign run against me, me being diagnosed as “sociopath” by a doctor whose coincidentally a Democratic Alliance councillor. He went as far as to imply I’m a paedophile.

Nothing about that in the newspaper either!

Editor Elaine King will be featured in coming weeks. I will share the emails between us too. Unlike her journalism without integrity, I will offer her a fair response.

Let’s drop into today, where the KPH’s front page is the suspension of Municipal Manager Grant Easton (MM). HASN’T THAT BEEN FRONT PAGE ALREADY????

Seems to be PURE DISTRACTION giving the Mayor a free ride from difficult questions not asked on page 4 (‘Muni, Blogger at Loggerheads’).

Knysna Mayor Eleanore Spies

Yes, Carl Mattheus isn’t qualified to be Acting Municipal Manager (MM). Of course, it should be of some concern in light of all the other Acting Directors (but that’s not mentioned). But this is a tricky situation. NO ONE LEFT IN KNYSNA MUNICIPALITY IS QUALIFIED TO BE MM. If Easton wins his case, he’ll be back as MM. If he loses, then they’ll advertise.

BULLSHIT front-page story.

This week, Knysna Municipality wouldn’t address my cyberstalkers. I consider them to be benefiting from them. My response to the Mayor’s press release against me was removed (sounds like the newspaper, hey?). Instead, only the Mayor’s version of our meeting stands on the municipal Facebook page and their website.

OUR MAYOR OBVIOUSLY DOESN’T BELIEVE IN FAIR RESPONSE. Her election promises of communication and transparency are covered in the mud of her inadequacy.

It’s almost impossible to find democracy in the Knysna Democratic Alliance.

I told the Mayor and Kirsten I would advertise 5,000 page views against the Mayor for every “communications error”. That’s 15,000 since yesterday.