CAPE TOWN - Patriotic Alliance (PA) Leader, Gayton McKenzie was elected as a seconded councillor in the Laingsburg District Municipality during a council meeting at the Central Karoo on Thursday.
McKenzie who received majority votes replaced councillor Mitchell Smith who resigned from the party last week.
He is also on the road of being voted in the position of the executive mayor of the of the Central Karoo District Municipality next week.
McKenzie had launched the PA political party in 2013, and became the party's first president.
Karoo Democratic Force (KDF) president, Noel Constable, said they would vote for McKenzie to take the mayoral position in the Central Karoo.
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“Mr Mckenzie as leader of the PA has a great reputation in the corporate world. He is well-known as a businessman. Through his experience and knowledge, the Central Karoo can benefit. His presence in the Central Karoo can bring ease to investors to come invest in the Karoo area,” said Constable.
Mckenzie said voting for the district mayor of the Central Karoo will take place on Monday.
“The media make everyone to believe that I am already the district mayor. It is not like that. I am an ordinary councillor who has been seconded to represent Laingsburg at district level,” he said.
PA’s Eugene Botha slammed critics who have labelled Mckenzie a “looter”.
“Gayton announced that he is going to become the district mayor of the Central Karoo. The haters immediately accused him of trying to ‘capture’ the district and that the ’looting’ was going to begin now.
“Our president Gayton McKenzie looked at all the cities and towns that he could become the mayor and chose the Central Karoo. The towns of the Central Karoo are financially distressed.
“They are what are known as ’grant towns’. If you are planning to ’loot’ why would you go to a district with no money? He must be the worst looter in the history of the world.
“Central Karoo has enormous potential. It can and will be the next Dubai. If there’s any man that can get it done, that man is Gayton McKenzie. I’ve been his commercial strategist and legal advisor for many years and I can assure you that only he can turn the Central Karoo around and put it on the path to prosperity,” he added.
GOOD party secretary-general Brett Herron said they hoped Mckenzie would serve the people of the district.
“Our concern would be how this purely political move benefits the people of the Central Karoo. When politics is about grabbing positions instead of serving communities authentically it is no wonder people are not bothering to turn up to vote.
“So this appears to be purely about a position. I hope he will serve the people of the district and improve their lives,“ Herron said.
Cape Times