In 2017, ex-Knysna DA Mayor Eleanore Spies responded to my queries regarding her and her partner (ex-husband), DA Garden Route Councillor Rowan Spies, by threatening me. Three times, on their behalf, legal letters were sent by Cliffe Decker Hofmeyr who appears to be the attorney firm most benefiting from work from Knysna Municipality (possibly in the millions of rands)..

I was told by the opposing political faction that the action against me was to be extensive, that they were taking me to Court, and that R400,000 had been unofficially budgeted, R40,000 spent so far.

As specialists in local government law, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr would have been aware that it’s illegal for them to be paid from Public funds for work done for personal politicians in their personal capacity. Despite my queries, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr repeated the legal threats but did not go ahead with the action.

I exposed the misuse of funds which seemed to have put a spanner in the DA plans.

ex-DA Mayor Eleanore Spies

Through the faction battle between Councillor Peter Myers and Mayor Spies, it was discovered that Speaker Georlene Wolmarans was also a participant. They’d added Myers name to it but he refused, instead using it against his enemies (for selfish gain as he never once contacted me regarding it, not even after going Public in local newspaper).

For almost one year, ex-Municipal Manager Kam Chetty illegally denied opposition councillors the report into the legal fee funding. Under Acting Municipal Manager Johnny Douglas, mention of it is in the agenda for the Section 80 Finance Committee Meeting that was held on August 21 2018. But the agenda excludes the report itself. Additionally, it wasn’t passed on, as is required, to the Mayoral Committee meeting (MAYCO) which followed.

Douglas and new DA Mayor Mark Willemse have repeatedly ignored my request for the report.

The Western Cape Public Protector makes no mention of this issue in their August report to Parliament, again protecting the DA. SALGA responded to my complaint by threatening to sue me too. Premier Helen Zille ignored my complaint, also threatening to sue. DA Leader Mmusi Maimane and the DA Federal Executive also ignored me, making their claimed ethics and good governance another in a long list of lies.

The Public needs to know how their funds are being misused, a criminal piggy bank stamped with approval by the Democratic Alliance.