The Executive Mayor of the Swellendam Municipality in the Western Cape, Francois du Rand condemned the violence in the town and the torching of the municipal building on Wednesday.
“I condemn unreservedly the attack on our town this morning 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,” Du Rand said.
The municipal building was not the only act of violence, as shops continue to be looted and property destroyed because residents are resistant to a council policy.
“The cause of this rioting is resistance to a council policy that requires all indigent households in the municipality to apply for subsidised services. The purpose of this is to ensure that only indigent households get the subsidy and that the system is not abused by those who do not qualify for this support.
“This policy is necessary because 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 entirely destroy our capacity to deliver any municipal services at all,” Du Rand said.
He said the registration process is necessary to ensure people who are genuinely indigent and that the system is not abused by people who do not fit the criteria.
The abuse of indigency subsidies is a form of corruption, the mayor said.
He said the demand on the municipality that it must guarantee unconditional, unchecked automatic registration is something that is no longer logistically possible and will inevitably lead to fraud and corruption.
Du Rand said the municipality has been in talks with community representatives to reach an amicable solution.
"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.
"Following the breakdown of discussions between residents and the municipality, we have now seen the destruction of municipal property.
"Because we were already engaged in discussions with community representatives, I am continuing this engagement in order to counter the misinformation being spread by our political opponents. Should the destruction of property or violence continue, the discussions will cease forthwith," Du Rand said.
The torching of the municipal building has now severely compromised call centre availability and will affect service delivery needs.
Western Cape MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs, and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, also condemned the act of violence and said 106 people have since been arrested, of whom 19 are minors.
"The Western Cape Government respects and acknowledges people’s right to protest or to voice their dissatisfaction. But this can never happen through the destruction of property or unlawful behaviour, as was the case in Swellendam, which saw the municipal offices being set on fire. When municipal infrastructure is damaged or destroyed, all residents are affected," Bredell said.
Additional firefighting equipment from the City of Cape Town has been sent to Swellendam, and Bredell said a provincial task team is being established to see how the municipality can be supported.
"At this stage, the priority is to protect data infrastructure in order for administrative and financial services to continue, that are critical for service delivery to residents.
"The protests are related to the requirement for households in Majoks, Swellendam, to register for indigent support. It is essential that indigent support goes to the people who need it and that municipalities update their registers to support the most vulnerable," Bredell said.
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