HAZYVIEW – Sandford Community Trust beneficiaries finally had the opportunity to cast their votes in the election of new trustees at a rescheduled annual general elective meeting on Sunday, March 22.
The meeting was held next to a truck stop in Hazyview, where 11 trustees were elected after 151 beneficiaries casted their votes.
The department of rural development attended and the IEC was commissioned to ensure it was a free and fair election.
Lowvelder previously reported on the first scheduled annual general elective meeting on March 15. This was supposed to give the beneficiaries the opportunity to vote for new trustees. On that day, the election process never happened as beneficiary lists were incomplete.
Community members and beneficiaries turned up at the meeting place furious and irritated and were itching to finally cast their votes after a decade of false promises and long-winded struggles to set up an AGM meeting and election.
The financial statements were also not provided at the meeting which angered the community in attendance even more.
“In one instance an elder made his voice heard. He was completely out of breath and emotionally drained. He only wanted to vote and was tired of listening to the trustees,” said a beneficiary representative who was present at the meeting.
The trust deed was also checked during the meeting, after which the election took place.
A follow-up meeting will be scheduled for the near future. Currently both sides’ legal representatives must first verify the completed election and complete discussions before the names of the trustees can be made public.
