PA leader quits as Central Karoo mayor, keeps pledge to serve only one year

Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie has resigned as Central Karoo mayor after promising to end his tenure exactly one year after taking office.

McKenzie said he had stated at his inauguration last year that he would  serve for only a year before going back on the campaign trail before the 2024 general election.

In his resignation letter, McKenzie says every politician ought to answer the question of whether the people are better off at the end of a politician’s tenure than when she or he started. He said his answer is a resounding yes.

“I found my people using bucket toilets for decades; today no-one is using bucket toilets. People used the veld and today they are using flushing toilets,” he said. 

The former mayor said his proudest achievements included repairing five of six communal pools and providing drinkable potable water from taps in the yards of the people of Leeu Gamka after they had been drinking dirty water from asbestos tanks contaminated by animal bodies.

“I am also grateful for seeing opportunities here while others saw delay and disuse. This can-do attitude is what we need throughout the country, which is why I am leaving the Karoo to focus on the greater challenge before us all of fixing our beloved country.”

McKenzie said he was particularly proud of how he showed a firm hand in dealing with administrators who did not put the municipality first. 

He said he had not reached all the targets he set in the Karoo, and so would stay on as a volunteer to ensure he finished everything he promised the residents. “I want to thank the staff, coalition partners [ANC and KDF] and this party. I also want to thank the opposition for keeping us on our toes throughout.”

McKenzie expressed gratitude to friends and volunteers who selflessly supported all the changes he brought, saying he never took a cent from the municipality throughout his term. 

“I took no salary and no perks whatsoever. I paid for my own bodyguards, travel and accommodation at all times. I donated my salary to the community.

“All the bucket toilets, pools, water solutions and more were done using private money we fundraised. It was a demonstration of how it is possible to achieve great things without needing the kinds of budgets officials shamelessly ask for.”

He said his tenure was a lesson as he had gained public service experience in his journey towards being ready to govern.

TimesLIVE