Cape Town - Patriotic Alliance president and Beaufort West Central Karoo mayor Gayton McKenzie said he has surpassed the promises he made when he became mayor and now wants the country to give him a chance.
Speaking at the 100-day celebrations as mayor, McKenzie said he promised to eradicate the bucket system, fix potholes and refurbish the municipal pool so that swimming competitions can return to the town.
“We have done what we promised and more in just 100 days. I did not do it alone. I did it with the help of our coalition partners,” he said.
McKenzie said, through investors, he also opened the area’s first bakery, clothing factory, paint shop and other businesses that created much-needed jobs for the poverty-stricken town.
He does all this without drawing a salary from the municipality and without benefits enjoyed by a person occupying the office.
McKenzie came to don the mayoral chain after he asked his friends why they would not vote for him as president. He said they all responded by saying he does not have public office experience.
“We are involved in about 15 municipalities in the country and I asked them to choose the most corrupt, bankrupt and failing municipality for me to go fix. They chose the Central Karoo and that is how I came here,” he said.
In attendance at the celebrations was entrepreneur and billionaire Rob Hersov. McKenzie called Hersov his friend during his speech and said that Hersov has never donated to his party, but his friends donated monies during the billionaire’s birthday celebration.
He said that in 2024 for his bid to become president of the country, he will ask Hersov to donate millions to the party.
The mayor said a private hospital will be built in the area soon, after they sold land for R5 million to a private entity.
McKenzie lashed out at billionaire Johan Rupert, insinuating that he is the one against mining and fracking in the central karoo.
“We have plans for the Karoo and it is a sin for people to stay in one of the richest areas yet they have no flushing toilets. There are billionaires with farms here and they enjoy seeing the area like this.
“Johan Rupert, I will fight you till the bitter end. We are not slaves of Rupert. There will be fracking here and mining of uranium. If Shell refuses to come back, we have billionaires that will come,” he said.
McKenzie made a bold statement that in the next nine months he will end load shedding in the central Karoo, and said that come 2024 the country will be governed through a coalition. McKenzie has mentioned before that he only needs 15% of the vote to become president of the country.
Among his other ambitious plans is to make the Central Karoo the energy hub of the country. He said municipalities do not know it yet but they will purchase electricity from them.
ANC and SACP Mawonga Furmen said McKenzie is fronting. “He came here to launch his presidential bid and wanted to use the area to gain popularity. He did not fix any swimming pool, we are facing water scarcity and it was decided that we close the pool. He just painted and reopened it,” he said.
Another community member, Brian Jooste said only outsiders think change is happening. “We still have potholes and only a handful of people got jobs. He is here for the fracking which is estimated to be around R200 billion a year,” he said.
McKenzie said he will not be disrupted by SACP people that have never built anything. “I am a capitalist but I am helping the poor while the so-called communists drive expensive cars. All they know is shout slogans.”