Feathers fly as mayor 'steals' town's sand

God, sand, stones and a mayor in the dock.

As well as an outbreak of bird flu that has almost decimated the birds on which the town's ostrich industry depends, Oudtshoorn now has to deal with scandalous allegations against its mayor, Gordon April.

Two days before Christmas, April appeared in the local magistrate's court for allegedly stealing building sand and stone for paving at his home.

Municipal worker Zanelizwi Rala said in an affidavit that in October he was clearing grass from the street when the town's first citizen stopped him.

"[April] gave me instructions to fetch sand and stone and said he had arranged everything. I fetched the sand and delivered it to his house," Rala said.

He said that for two days he and colleagues used a municipal vehicle to fetch the building material from the river and the municipal depot.

When he told April he did not want to get into trouble, Rala said the mayor told him: "Die boere vat net so" (The white people take it just like that).

Concerned about the mayor's orders, Rala told his supervisor about them, and the supervisor told Walter Hendricks, director of community services for the town.

Hendricks wrote to the acting municipal manager Mpho Mogale, to inform him that April had, without a council resolution, allegedly "used municipal property to complete paving at his premises".

Hendricks was then suspended from duty.

In a second affidavit, Rala said April told him to deny that he had been told to fetch and deliver the building material.

He said April approached him in the street, telling him that God had "showed" him who had reported him to the authorities.

Drewan Baird, an Oudtshoorn resident and publisher of internet publication OudtshoornOnline, got wind of the goings-on and alerted Western Cape Premier Helen Zille and local government MEC Anton Bredell.

"This is an entertaining tale of deceit, unethical behaviour, intimidation and even a suggestion of divine intervention," Baird said in his blog.

Hendricks said "not a finger was lifted" against April by the ANC-led municipality.

Only when Afrikaner civic organisation AfriForum got wind of the scandal and laid a charge in December did sparks begin to fly,

April will reappear in court on February 3.

April's lawyer, Hardy Mills, said: "I am confident in our legal system and trust that all the facts will be properly ventilated during the trial and that justice will be served."

This week Hendricks will apply for an interdict preventing the municipality from instituting disciplinary proceedings against him for blowing the whistle on the sand and stone scandal.

He was suspended for a month and returned to work on Friday.

ANC provincial secretary Songezo Mjongile said that ANC representatives would meet Oudtshoorn municipal leaders tomorrow when they return from taking part in the ruling party's centenary celebrations in Mangaung, in the Free State.