The Executive Mayor of the Stellenbosch Local Municipality, Jeremy Fasser, should fully account for why he and the Mayoral Committee granted more than twelve in-principle approvals for the leasing of municipal properties over a period of four years without following competitive tender or proper public participation processes.
National Treasury (NT) had warned the Municipality in May 2025 that this internal policy is unlawful because it deviates from competitive processes.
The delegation of authority to the Mayor via the System of Delegations (June 2022) is equally unlawful, as only the Council has this power.
Despite the NT’s warning, the matter was only brought before the Council ten months later, in March 2026. The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) finds this delay unacceptable.
Community organisations, including U-turn Homeless Shelter, L’Abrie de Dieu Safe House and Stellenbosch Animal Welfare Society, have been leasing some of these properties and now face an uncertain future.
The Freedom Front Plus demands that this practice be stopped at once and that a transparent, lawful process be implemented for the benefit of all parties involved. Taxpayers should not have to cover the costs of the Municipality’s administrative failures.
Stellenbosch residents deserve to have a Municipality that operates within the constraints of the law. So, the Freedom Front Plus will keep holding the current administration to that standard.
