Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
‘Mayor McKenzie will work for free’
THE Patriotic Alliance has confirmed what could possibly be the worst-kept secret.
Its leader, Gayton McKenzie, will be standing to be elected as mayor of the Central Karoo District Municipality on Monday and promised that he will not draw any salary if elected.
This was confirmed by the party’s deputy president, Kenny Kunene, on Friday.
On Monday, the district municipality will hold a council meeting where a new mayor is expected to be elected.
A council meeting was held on Thursday in the Central Karoo municipality, which saw McKenzie winning the majority of votes. He replaced councillor Mitchell Smith, who
“Mr McKenzie as leader of the PA has a great reputation in the corporate world. He is wellknown as a businessman.
NOEL CONSTABLE
KDF president
resigned from the party last week.
Kunene told the Weekend Argus that should he get the mayoral chain, McKenzie would change the municipality. “Should he be elected, the PA leader has vowed to turn around the economy of the Central Karoo in pursuit of job creation for the largely impoverished semi-desert area’s residents.
“He will not be drawing any salary or benefit from any of the other perks of being an elected official, with the money instead to be donated to the needs of the elderly and abused in the district.”
McKenzie is a favourite to win the position and might even stand uncontested come Monday.
There were reports on Thursday that McKenzie was already elected mayor. He quashed the reports when he tweeted that he was just an ordinary councillor but was seconded to represent Laingsburg on district level.
The PA had its first mayoral post as coalition kingmakers in the Western Cape, bagging the chain and the hot seat for Laingsburg after the local government elections last year. The province had 12 hung councils after the local government elections.
The ANC formed a coalition with the PA, Karoo Gemeenskap Party and Karoo Democratic Force (KDF) to govern the Central Karoo municipality.
KDF president Noel Constable has announced that they would vote for McKenzie to take the mayoral position.
“Mr McKenzie as leader of the PA has a great reputation in the corporate world. He is well-known as a businessman.
“Through his experience and knowledge, the Central Karoo can benefit. His presence in the Central Karoo can bring ease to investors to come to invest in the Karoo area,” said Constable.
McKenzie said he will only speak to the media after Monday’s vote.