Dear Members,
We have received a number of objections to our earlier circular on the upcoming elections, in which we concluded that the smaller parties were unlikely to garner enough support to make much difference, and that the real battle was between the ANC and the DA. We included a comparative rating of the performance of each of the three parties represented in the Council over the past five years, namely the ANC, the DA and the AUF. In preparing the circular, a data base of information was compiled, interviews were conducted with political parties that accepted our invitation to participate (the ANC, the DA and the AUF all ignored theirs), and research into the viability of coalitions was brought into account. All the information collected was compiled in a long report, vetted by an eminent senior counsel and other professional evaluators of municipal performance. A professional communications company was employed to edit it to a manageable format, and every effort was made to be rational and objective. The final circular was the product of careful reflection. It was compiled against the background of the dire situation in which the municipality finds itself, and the pressing need to elect councillors who are capable of turning it around and it was unanimously endorsed by our Executive Committee.
We have thought carefully about the content of the objections but still stand by our original findings. The material on which we based them is available to anyone who asks for it.
In conclusion, we must affirm our right to make and publish our evaluation of the performance of the politicians who represent the residents of Bitou. We have a duty to our members to scrutinize, evaluate and, where appropriate, condemn and we act with such impartiality as we can muster. We shall continue to do this over the coming five years and, at the end of it, repeat the same process of evaluation, if we still consider this appropriate. Everyone, the politicians included, can only profit by such scrutiny.
Kind regards,
Peter Gaylard
Chairman
