Why is Mayor Vumile Lwana not leading mass action to demand that the seat of the Eastern Cape High
Court remains in Grahamstown?
Why is Mayor Vumile Lwana not leading mass action to demand that the seat of the Eastern Cape High
Court remains in Grahamstown?
As the mayor of Makana Municipality we expect that the main focus of his job is to protect the interests of the residents of this area, and since the High Court move is undoubtedly prejudicial to the town, he should be at the forefront of the campaign to keep the Court here.
When a campaign was launched to sign a petition demanding that Justice Minister Jeff Radebe cancel his ludicrous plans to move the courts, Grocott’s Mail offered to send a photographer to take a picture of the mayor signing the petition.
This offer was politely declined because the council’s response to the planned move has been caught up in some sub-committee.
Other members of the council and senior members of the Makana administration have also been conspicuous by their low profile on this issue.
We do not know why this is so, but we could certainly speculate. Other prominent Grahamstown individuals such as business and religious leaders have been unequivocal in their stance to retain the High Court.
When we invited community leaders to nail their colours to the mast, the Anglican Bishop of Grahamstown, senior members of Rhodes University, business people, lawyers and NGOs were proud to be photographed for the front cover of this newspaper: making a stand against the move.
There are several compelling reasons why the High Court should not go to Bhisho. Many people in Grahamstown will lose jobs and the local economy will suffer a real blow.
It is improbable that the move will improve the efficiency of the High Court as most government services run from Bhisho are either in disarray or corrupt or both.
It appears that the tenderpreneur virus is particularly virulent in the Eastern Cape capital. If the Mayor is interested in preserving jobs in Grahamstown, if he cares about the economic wellbeing of the town he runs, then he must lead a march down High Street and toyi-toyi in front of the court. Unless of course there are other more important, agendas.
