Wupperthal residents in the Cederberg say they are at their wits’ end with “the unprofessional behaviour” of the church leadership, which has resulted in residents dumping their garbage at the church doors in protest.
Residents of the Moravian Church Mission Station accused the church leadership of making decisions without consulting the community.
Committee member of the Wupperthal Community Support Group, Eben Valentyn, said grievances included concerns around alleged financial mismanagement of church funds and ongoing land reform processes, while the mission station was classified as a heritage site.
“There are broader issues of concern, but fundamentally what is happening is that the current church leadership is making decisions outside of the church order and in exclusion of the church and its community at Wupperthal.
“With regard to rubbish being dumped at the church, this was due to the community being informed that refuse removal will no longer be done.
“This was done with no consultation and without giving any reasons as to why the service is being stopped and how people are to now get rid of their dirt while they pay for a service for refuse removal.
“These issues are just the tip of the iceberg of what is happening in the community,” said Valentyn.
Multiple enquiries this week to church leader Reverend Jasmine Redcliffe, went unanswered.
President of the Moravian Church South Africa, Martin Abrahams, said: “Suffice to say that the provincial board will meet in the week to discuss the correspondence. We will inform the congregation of the outcome.”
In a letter penned by a group of concerned Moravians, the community said Redcliffe’s “conduct as a leader of our church is becoming an embarrassment and can no longer be tolerated”.
They called for his immediate removal.
“Adding to the current unstable situation in Wupperthal and surrounding substations, is his inability or unwillingness to approve the Board of Overseers timeously.
“Service delivery also fails, due to the non-existence of clear communication.
“The lack of such a board is a recipe for disaster as the proper control and financial management are compromised. Community members are not willing to serve on the church council due to the actions of Reverend Redcliffe,” the letter read.
Wupperthal ward councillor, Andre Mouton, said refuse removal had to be interrupted due to tractors which were out of service.
“Currently the rubbish removals have been temporarily paused because of one of the two tractors the mission station used was given back to the small-scale farmers in the area.
“The second tractor was out of commission, which leaves the Wupperthal Mission station without a tractor. The rubbish has been picked up by the local residents.
“We hope to get the second tractor up and running, as soon as they can, so that we could start with service delivery,” said Mouton.
Cape Times