In politics, the so-called art of avoiding awkward questions, or wrapping them in enough vagueness in the hope they will eventually disappear, is a fallacy.
Public accountability has a habit of catching up with those in its crosshairs – no matter how long it takes
The long-running saga surrounding the failed Milkwood Festival may yet prove to be a case in point.
Most readers will recall that, around this time last year, Overstrand Mayor Archie Klaas allocated R250 000 of public money, from his discretionary fund, to the festival organisers.
A double booking of the location meant the festival subsequently collapsed amid what appeared to be inadequate planning. The perception was also that the municipality failed to apply due diligence and oversight, and the money had already been paid.
Since then, The Village News has repeatedly approached Mayor Klaas and Municipal Manager Dean O’Neill to explain what steps were in place to establish accountability and, crucially, safeguard or recover the public money.
A year later, clear answers remain elusive. Instead, the municipality offered a vague defence – organisers would fund this year’s Milkwood Festival with last year’s budget. Left unanswered was what happened over the past year, what financial checks were conducted, and who was being held accountable for the quarter-million rand
Calls for answers have not been confined to the media. AfriForum opened a case with Saps for investigation, while the Overstrand Community Action Network (OCAN) has repeatedly called for an inquiry.
Still, the saga remains unresolved.
Overstrand resident Pat Redman has also pursued the matter vigorously, taking her concerns directly to Mayor Klaas and eventually escalating them to Democratic Alliance (DA) head of governance Richard Newton.
And, judging by the responses, avoidance and ambiguity remain the order of the day.
Newton wrote that he had “engaged the mayor and his team regarding the issue”. He said he understood that the money was not missing, but that the festival had been postponed on the understanding that, once a new date was secured, the agreed services would be provided.
He said he had also asked the mayoral committee for progress on securing a new date and a clear plan to resolve the delay.
Mayor Klaas, meanwhile, referred Redman to an update from the municipality’s administration. He said the organisers had submitted a compliant application; marketing material had been issued or would be issued shortly; and municipal officials were expected to hold the organisers accountable. The only additional condition was that the festival took place before the 2026 Hermanus Whale Festival.
If the organisers failed to honour that undertaking, Klaas said, “consequence management” should apply. At this point, the mayor said that officials had confirmed that the festival was going ahead.
Oh, OK.
But the Whale Festival is next weekend. So, by that logic, the Milkwood Festival should be happening this weekend. Yet there is no evident announcement, programme or promotion.
But on Wednesday, Mayor Klaas told The Village News that the Milkwood Festival was booked for Sunday at Zwelihle Sports Ground and that no additional funds were granted for staging the event.
So the Overstrand public waits with bated breath to see what this promised “consequence management” will look like if indeed the condition is not met.
The DA leadership’s seemingly limp-wristed handling of the matter is telling and troubling – particularly surprising with the local government elections only a month away.
Does the party regard the questionable management of public money, due diligence and the prolonged absence of clear accountability as a trivial matter?
Or is the party’s normally quick response to dubious practices involving public money by political opponents somehow less robust when the questions involve one of its own?
Public funds deserve public accountability, not evasive language or assurances that something might happen at some unspecified point in the future.
A year is a long time to wait for a straight answer.
Nee, fokkit manne, as the saying goes: you can fool all the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
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