In the news for the wrong reasons

Knysna made national headlines over the past week for all the wrong reasons as Carte Blanche aired an insert on Sunday 18 February about the sporadic breakdown and lack of service delivery in the holiday town.

These include sewage running into the estuary and potentially threatening the Knysna seahorse, sewage running down streets, no water to several areas in Knysna including Hornlee, and massive problems with garbage removal.

Many locals were upset about the Carte Blanche insert saying it painted a very dark picture of the town and that the holiday destination is still fully functional and a wonderful town to visit.

In a letter posted on the Greater Knysna Business Chamber Facebook page, chairperson Jan van der Westhuizen encourages people, foreign and local, planning to visit Knysna, to do so. "We are open for business and will make your stay an enjoyable one that will deliver lasting memories that will encourage you to return.” He said accommodation establishments usually have back-up power systems in place and bottled water facilities abound around town, so no visitor will go thirsty.

Van der Westhuizen said Knysna is not unique in experiencing service delivery problems, but individual citizens and businesses are and continue to be resourceful, while looking to civic organisations for leadership of community initiatives. “While the chamber executive is working with the municipality to find solutions for problems, we expect progress in resolving the issues with positive results. We will not stand by while there is suffering, and although building relationships with the municipality, we certainly cannot accept poor service delivery,” he said.

'Coalitions of corruption'

Defending his State of the Province Address (Sopa) delivered on Monday, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde lashed out at criticism from opposition parties in the Western Cape on Tuesday saying "coalitions of corruption" in municipalities should be investigated. Winde said these coalitions were killing hope for citizens and that they cannot deliver basic services.

Participating in the parliamentary debate on President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation address last week, 14 February, Winde also put Knysna in the spotlight when he highlighted an incident last year where a body was only removed from a water reservoir in the town two weeks after the individual's demise. He slammed the ruling coalition for its bad service delivery and appealed for help from Ramaphosa to put Knysna under administration.