With the gloomy cloud that continues to hover over the head of Drakenstein Executive Mayor Conrad Poole, the municipal council, on the instruction of its Speaker, upholds the decision to discuss the ongoing investigation against Poole only behind closed doors – and this, while residents remain in the dark.
For the past two council meetings members of the public and the media were asked to excuse themselves as council went on to discuss misconduct allegations against the Mayor in camera.
Councillors were sworn to secrecy, many even refraining from speaking on public platforms for fear of intimidation and victimisation.
Be that as it may, the public does have the right to know what it is their number 1 citizen is alleged to have done.
In fact, it would be in the interests of progress for both the municipality and its Mayor to communicate openly about these allegations.
Every attempt by the “city of excellence” to showcase its top-notch facilities and innovative technology, such as the UPS systems for traffic lights, which we report on this week, is being overshadowed by these allegations.
We agree the integrity of any investigation must be respected, but one cannot help but wonder about the merits of the confidentiality of the allegations.
