MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Following the monthly municipal council meeting on 26 August, ADCP councillor Jeanette Gouws raised the following objections.

These were listed in a media release sent to the Mossel Bay Advertiser this week.

Ironman competition
Gouws noted that the DA-led council had made a decision to sponsor the Ironman Pty Ltd Company with an amount of almost R2 million for the company to host the Ironman event in Mossel Bay.

"While the ACDP appreciates the sentiment, we do not believe that this is a wise nor circumspect expenditure of ratepayers' and residents' money. The ACDP will only support this event IF outside funding is sourced to cover ALL the costs of hosting the event in Mossel Bay."

According to the documentation provided by the private company, Mossel Bay should get some advantage in the form of advertising exposure and the money spent in our economy by the contestants and spectators, Gouws noted.

"These are not normal times and with the projection that Covid will be with us until 2024 and the uncertainty regarding lockdown regulations which restrict travel, numbers and gatherings, the possibility that this will affect the potential income is too great and not a risk that the ACDP is willing to take right now," Gouws said.

"The South African economy is driven by household consumption which makes up 61% of expenditure. It makes more sense to place more money directly into the pockets of residents in the form of reduced service costs if we want to kickstart the economy in Mossel Bay," said Gouws.

With disposable income being spent by residents we can rely on the multiplier effect to boost our local economy without a direct cost to residents.

Private residents should not be expected to carry such costs, even in the best of times, let alone when everyone is tightening their belts due to loss of income or loss of employment.

"Residents should not be taxed or charged exorbitant service charges in order for the DA-led council to recklessly spend money that residents cannot afford."

Moral regeneration
The municipality has a moral regeneration plan.

Gouws said: "This initiative is a welcome one and I thank all the roleplayers and initiators."

Gouws said that according to the municipal document, moral decay and substance abuse were a threat to service delivery in Mossel Bay and according to the authors of the document, they proposed to stimulate moral development and rebuild communal life.

"Speaker, even according to this document morals cannot be separated from our belief system," Gouws said, addressing the Mossel Bay Council Speaker in her press release.

"Our beliefs are founded on our world view, which can be Biblical, humanist or secular and according to our constitution none of these have any greater value than any other.

"For this reason, Speaker, as the representative of a political party that bases our policies on a Biblical world view, I cannot ignore the role of legislation in either contributing to the moral or social ills and in some instances even promoting them through policies and legislation.

"The concern relating to alcohol and other drug abuse cannot be separated from this province's governing party's decision to legalise the sale of alcohol seven days a week, almost 24 hours a day.

"The restoration of the family unit is not only a noble aim but also absolutely critical. As the ACDP, we believe that healthy families are the building blocks of society and that legislation that harms families should be opposed. For this reason the ACDP opposed legislation that consistently undermines parental authority in the home. Loving physical chastisement has been outlawed; 12 year olds can legally consent to sex with a 16 year old and 12 year olds can murder their unborn babies without the parental consent or even knowledge of their parents."

Gouws said: "Violence in the home and against women is statistically linked to the proliferation and availability of pornography and the proposed legalisation of prostitution which is an obvious objectification of women and contributes to their harm.

"Much, much more can be said but unless we address these contradictions and the manner in which they undermine the strategy through policy and legislation, we cannot reasonably hope to succeed in achieving the two main objectives of peaceful and stable societies."

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