Karoo – After a year in the position, Patriotic Alliance (PA) President Gayton McKenzie has quit as mayor of Central Karoo Mayor, his party spokesperson Steve Motale said on Tuesday.
When he was elected to the position of mayor last year, McKenzie announced that he would be taking up the position for exactly one year before going back on the campaign trail ahead of next year’s elections.
“Today marks a year since his swearing-in and he has resigned as promised,” said PA spokesman, Motale.
In his resignation letter to the Speaker, McKenzie listed his achievements which included the eradication of the bucket toilet system, the repair of swimming pools, and the cleaning of a water reservoir.
“Dear Speaker, It is with a huge sense of pride that I hand in my resignation as the District Executive Mayor of the Central Karoo,” wrote McKenzie.
“I am resigning because I stated at my inauguration that I would serve for only a year and the marking of that year has arrived today.
“The most pertinent question every politician should answer at the end of their term is, are the people better off than I found them.
“I believe my answer is a resounding yes.”
McKenzie said he “took no salary and no perks whatsoever. I paid for my own bodyguards, travel, and accommodation at all times. I donated my salary to the community”.
He said he came to the Karoo to make it a better place, “but in the process, I am most humbled to say, it was the Karoo that made me a better man”.
McKenzie added: “I want to wish the new mayor all the best and that her journey will be a hundredfold better than my own. May God bless the Central Karoo”.
