Attention: Heidi Cronje (Health & Safety Officer Knysna Municipality), Dawie Adonis (Director Community Services) and Irene Grootboom (DA Councillor & Community Services S80 Chairperson)

A man is dead and two others were hospitalised.

I hope that you care enough about that fact so that you abandon the Knysna Municipality’s usual, unconstitutional silence.

On the morning of January 7 2015, Rudolph Kapp, an employee of our Knysna Municipality, a man in your care, died as the result of an accident inside the Municipal Depot in the Industrial Area. Allegedly, a truck, engine running and with no driver, was parked on a slope when its handbrake failed – it rolled back and crushed him.

Apparently, our big trucks need to build up air (for their compressed air brake system) before they can be driven. Consequently, each morning, drivers are meant to run the engines for approximately 10 minutes.

However, it’s alleged that for years, against health & safety regulations, employees other than drivers have been doing this. On that fateful morning, Rudolph Kapp was one of them.

– Why did it take the death of an employee to stop this illegal procedure?
– Who was in charge of the safety inspections in 2015?
– When was the trucks last road worthiness check and who conducted it?

During the holiday season, on Dec 9 and Dec 29, two traffic controllers, respectively Traffic Head Anthony Bans and Ernest ‘Nonki Smiley’ Nqoko, were knocked over by vehicles whilst on duty. Both sustained broken bones.

On a glaring summer’s day, our traffic controllers are not easy to see if only wearing a yellow traffic bib. What do our safety regulations regulations state with regards the clothing they must wear? What does the Road Traffic Act state? Let’s ensure that their cap and pants are reflective too? Let’s place a sign in the busiest roads, 100m before the officer, stating that he/she is on duty.

Furthermore, Richard Meyer, Knysna Municipality’s Manager for Disaster Management (which has Traffic under that), hasn’t answered my questions for one-and-a-half years. That attitude despite emailing and visiting 3 times in person, each time getting it signed to prove i was there. His attitude is possibly inherited from Municipal Manager Grant Easton who will not effectively explain why there is no appropriate action against pigs and cows roaming our roads.

A death and two severe injuries demands that Knysna Municipality be held accountable.

More immediate is the need for you to ensure that there is less chance of further accidents. If you have initiated a plan of action, please provide a copy of it. If you’ve yet to initiate such, why not?

Please respond to this email by Wednesday 10am so that i can better inform the public of this important issue.

* * * * *

A death is a touchy subject, especially for the family and friends involved. I’d hoped to get answers before publishing the full story. I post this letter because Knysna Municipality has failed, again, to respond to an important issue.

Knysna Municipality is always staffed. Making allowances for holiday leave is a regular, normal feature. Duties get re-designated and emails get redirected. And there are always bosses above those people.

What makes the lack of response more ludicrous is holidays, for most, are over. There’s already been a Council meeting. Emphasising their “unavailability” on this matter is that that Council Meeting disgracefully never mentioned that an employee had died but instead focused on salary increases for those such as the DA’s Irene Grootboom who has yet to respond as head of the portfolio.

Note that my Love Knysna email edress remains banned (so i had to email my queries from another).

This is Knysna Municipality intentionally being non-communicative and failing not only us but likely their staff too:

09.01.2016 – Health & Safety Officer Heidi Cronje: “Thank you for your e-mail. Forward all urgent queries to the HR Manager (gtyelela@knysna.gov.za) or contact HR at 044 302 6300.

09.01.2016 – Human Resources Manager G Tyelela: “I’m on leave for the above mentioned period. Luline Phillips will be acting Manager HR for the said period and can be contacted on 044 302 6307 or lspies@knysna.gov.za.”

11.01.2016 – Acting Human Resourses Manager Luline Spies: “Your e-mail is noted. Although I would have loved to assist you in the most transparent manner, I am not in a position to respond as the official protocol is that queries of this nature is dealt with by the Communications Department who is dealing with the official press release on this matter.”

11.01.2016 – Communications Manager Christopher Bezuidenhout: “Thank you for your e-mail. I am currently on leave and will be back at the office on Thursday 14 January 2016. Please direct any urgent email to communications@knysna.gov.za or tel 044 302 6471.”

12.01.2016 – Secretary: Director Community services Shahida Sigula: “Please be advised that Mr Adonis is on annual leave until 26 January 2016, your email have been forwarded to the Municipal Managers office for his direct response, copied in on this mail.” [that was CCied to Grant Easton, the Municipal Manager, and 6 others].

Despite all that, the Knysna Municipality obviously communicated with the Knysna-Plett Herald who published those thin details 6 days ago, on January 7 i.e. the Knysna Municipality is open, just not to questions that matter the most.

Read what happened at that disgraceful Special Council Meeting i mentioned.