MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Too many irregularities, including the election of the new board at Benevolent Park and video footage circulating on social media of financial documents being burnt, raise serious concerns about the true nature of what is happening at Benevolent Park. 

This is according to the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) councillor in Mossel Bay, Jeanette Gouws. 

The decision was made in a council meeting at the Mossel Bay Municipality in March to deregister Benevolent Park as a non-profit organisation (NPO) and establish a non-profit company (NPC). Gouws says the ACDP does not agree with this and the party rejected the proposal. 

She says the reason offered for such a radical step was that the Democratic Alliance (DA) had only just become aware of the financial constraints of the organisation, yet when she requested a report mentioned by the mayor, the date of the report was from 2019 - five years ago. 

Gouws alleged that a request for the original lease agreement between Mossel Bay Municipality and Benevolent Park was not forthcoming, with the municipality "stating that they cannot find the original lease agreement and that they only have the most recent one which was dated in 2013".

She said: "The persons interested in running Benevolent Park as an NPC have stated that they will not assist the home as an NPO but the ACDP can see no reason why those who are now interested in the retirement home cannot conduct their charity work as an NPO."

Gouws says Benevolent Park has a rich history in Mossel Bay, with residents from across the different culture groups having raised funds to start the home when the need in the community for such a home became clear. "As an NPO the home remains an institution of the community in which, if the constitution of the NPO is followed, professional persons manage the institution as a board. 

"The ACDP supports the rights of the community to retain ownership and rights to Benevolent Park, not only to ensure the original intent to accommodate the aged but also as a proud community-initiated and -funded organisation.

In a statement released by Niklaas Booisen, DA caucus chairman of Mossel Bay and Mossel Bay Municipality's portfolio chairman for Community Services he says: "The decision to form a NPC specifically to address the dire financial position of Benevolent Park senior citizens' complex in Mossel Bay has been misused in various media for short-sighted political gain by various opposition parties in recent weeks and emotional misinformation has been widely spread about the council's supposed motives."

Earlier this week, the Mossel Bay Advertiser reported on a visit by Western Cape provincial member of parliament, Cameron Dugmore to Benevolent Park.

Opposition parties, among others the ACDP, emphasised that although a majority vote was obtained, the DA had the majority in the council and all parties were not in favour of the decision to change Benevolent Park from an NPO to an NPC.

According to Booisen's statement, council accepted an urgent motion by him as caucus chairperson and portfolio chairman, during the general council meeting on March 28. The motion was that a non-profit company be established for the management of Benevolent Park.

This followed after the Mossel Bay Benevolent Association for Aged Care, the NPO that previously managed Benevolent Park, experienced serious financial challenges, raising fear among both residents of Benevolent Park and the community of the likely imminent closure of the seniors' complex.

"The council has therefore decided that a NPC, a separate entity, will be established to ensure the efficient management, financial viability and survival of Benevolent Park without political interference," says Booisen.
Read the full story in Friday's Mossel Bay Advertiser. 

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