2023-09-28 16:52:00
A first alderman forced to resign. A mayor whose authority is weakening, and who plays the victim by declaring to Standaard: “A murderer has more rights than a simple alderman”. A college of aldermen, weakened, even out of step, where distrust reigns. Knokke finds itself in a delicate situation at the moment.
By placing the bon chic seaside resort under reinforced surveillance following an audit of its administration, Bart Somers (Open VLD), the Flemish Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Internal Affairs, has signaled the end of recess. The use of a straitjacket was necessary to prevent the situation from degenerating further. Because we are there, laments a local representative. “The seaside resort, since the death of Léopold Lippens in 2018, has been lost in conjectures.”
Nearly 15 million euros requested for a house in Knokke: prestigious real estate is not experiencing the crisis
A big deal
According to nationalist elected representative Cathy Coudyzer, Flemish deputy sitting on the municipal council, the report which was presented Thursday evening to the municipal council and whose content had been published at the beginning of the week by Flemish media, is damning for the former first alderman Kris Demeyere (Communal Interests), professional mechanic. The latter is suspected of conflict of interest. Embezzlement, fraud, corruption? The accusations seem so serious that Audit Vlaanderen contacted the OCRC (Central Office for the Suppression of Corruption).
What we know is that Demeyere Cars, the company of the resigning alderman, would have supplied 58% of the vehicles intended for municipal staff between 2012 and 2023. The same garage would have supplied 90% of the company vehicles for the municipality. These cars were sold to Belfius Auto Lease which, in turn, entered into a contract with the coastal municipality. The former alderman would have been actively involved in granting the rental contract for these cars and the contract explicitly mentioned that the cars would be maintained by the Demeyere garage of which he is the owner. The former alderman implicated, however, speaks of a report “riddled with approximations and tendentious”. His lawyer claims that his client “only lent his expertise and saved his municipality hundreds of thousands of euros”.
Knokke: a new affair discredits local power
Not credible
N-VA elected representative Cathy Coudyzer wonders why Alderman Demeyere was not forced by the college to take a step aside when he was singled out by a first audit a year ago? She wonders “Why did the college not take any initiative in a timely manner? Did the municipality follow up on the recommendations of Audit Vlaanderen following the first report?” According to the Flemish MP, Mayor Piet De Groote (Communal Interests) also questioned the validity of the audit report. “To call into question the work of Audit Vlaanderen, what nerve! The specialists did a good job, in my opinion.”
On the majority side, the story is barely different. “This affair brings discredit to our municipality, it is very serious,” underlines one interlocutor. Mayor Piet De Groote let his alderman do his thing, he never intervened to stop him. He is no longer credible in my eyes. Moreover, he has accumulated errors. His project to transfer two primary schools to official education failed, he had to make a re-entry curve. His project to build the Wielingen Towers was violently criticized. And he continues to protect the implicated former first alderman Demeyere, that’s a lot…”
The governor of West Flanders, Carl Decaluwé (CD&V), says he is worried regarding the information concerning Knokke-Heist. “It can rub off on local politics, where most administrations do a good job and are supported by the population.”
1695952607
#alderman #Knokke #mechanic #profession #supplied #company #vehicles #seaside #resort
