History Matters. Facts Matter.
Responding to a recent call for a meeting—and the claims it contains.
“Let’s call a meeting,” reads the latest email from a resident, alleging financial mismanagement, constitutional abuse, and lack of oversight.
But there was a meeting—just four months ago: the Annual General Meeting (AGM). That would have been a good time and place to raise these concerns.
But now we see this claim:
“R1 million is gone. No oversight.”
With no explanation. No detail. No evidence.
Then comes another accusation:
“A clause in our HOA Constitution once guaranteed access to financial records. That clause—without discussion, vote, or a Special General Meeting—has simply been removed.”
I was curious about this, so I dug into my emails. Here is how this happened—and there’s a twist to the tale.
Brandolini’s Law
"The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it."
— Alberto Brandolini, Italian programmer (2013)
Also known as the Bullshit Asymmetry Principle, Brandolini’s Law captures exactly why falsehoods, once released into the wild, are so difficult—and time-consuming—to correct.
Yes, the Clause Was Removed—But in 2019
Not last month or last year, as the writer seems to think. But at the 18th AGM held on 3 January 2019. A significant change, yes—and yes, it was passed without proper discussion.
The HOA’s email of 11 December 2018, titled “18th AGM on 3 January 2019 – Constitutional Changes,” listed ten changes. This removal wasn’t one of them. Instead, it wrapped the rest in this vague statement:
“The balance of the many changes relates to updates to national laws, improvement to the wording and grammatical enhancements, that make the document easier to read.”
That wasn’t true.
Minor issues—like boat parking and tenant subletting—were listed. The removal of a key financial oversight clause was not. Why? Was it an oversight—or intentional?
Who were the trustees at the time? Read on.
Remember What Else Was Happening in 2019
To understand the context, I looked back at my own archive—Thesen Islander News (not to be confused with a similarly named blog).
Late 2018 marked the start of a three-year fight between members and trustees over plans to increase bulk on Thesen Islands. The legacy of that battle still lingers—most notable with where we are today, P53.
From HOA communications:
- 9 Nov 2022: Knysna Municipality (KM) issues a stop-work order on P53.
- 2 Aug 2023: Order lifted, conditional on compliance with approved plans.
- 24 July 2024: Still non-compliant. “As-built” structure does not match plans.
- 16 May 2025: HOA repeats that the Arbitrator ruled in favour of KM-approved plans. Costs awarded against the HOA, but compliance is now legally enforceable.
You submit plans. You receive approval. You build accordingly.
You don’t build outside those terms, then want the rules changed.
There is no wriggle room. The rules cannot be changed here. The Design Guidelines are an integral part of the Constitution and the trustees are bound by the provisions of the Constitution.Red Herring Alert! Repeating that the HOA cannot enforce the Design Guidelines as the zoning falls under the Knysna Municipality is not true. And it never will be, no matter how many times it is repeated. Firstly, the KM will only look at plans that have been approved and stamped by the HOA Design Review Panel. Secondly, we members are bound by the Constitution which obliges us to comply with the Design Guidelines. And sneaking plans past the KM without the HOA approval won't work either.
Silencing Those Who Asked the Difficult Questions
This was also the time the HOA officially decided to ignore Craig Smith's questions and was looking to prevent him from attending the AGM.
As I wrote on 18 December 2018:
“I have seen the letter the HOA sent Craig Smith putting a freeze on communication with him (well, more accurately, the HOA is now going to officially ignore his questions). I also hear he is banned from attending the upcoming AGM.
These actions have the strong smell of the HOA wanting to avoid answering the hard questions he is asking.”
📄 Original post: The Banning of Craig Smith
One of those questions?
“House Williams P53 – the minutes of the DRP reflect these plans were approved on 23 July 2018. From a bulk perspective, do these plans comply with our 2015 Design Guidelines? If not, how much over bulk, and what is the motivation?”
Who was on the Design Review Panel at the time?
From the Chairman’s Report, 18th AGM:
The DRP is chaired by Sam Lurie, with members: Mark Williams (Trustee), Trevor Griffin (architect), Edu Lohan (Town Planner), and Roberto Boni (architect).
Back to the Constitution Change - A Twist in the Tale
Digging through my emails from that time, I discovered that Smith himself opposed the constitutional changes. On 2 January 2019, he wrote:
“I was involved for two years in updating the Constitution before it went to a legal expert. The version presented is vastly different from the one I last reviewed. Many of the changes are questionable and have no legal basis.”
“I’ve informed the office that the constitutional requirements to adopt it at the AGM were not met, and we cannot vote on it.”
Who Were the Trustees During These Turbulent Times?
- Bill Cooper – Chairman
- Remia Eksteen
- Mark Williams
- Sam Lurie
Source: Draft Minutes - 18th AGM 3 Jan 2019. 2 other trustees present, both resigned in 2019. Other trustees also came and went.
In Summary
I haven’t agreed with every decision the current trustees have made - read my recent blog posts. And I may be disagreeing in the future. But I believe that they have the interests of Thesen Islands at heart. Trying to undermine them with wild claims is corrosive and creates disharmony. We've lived through 3 years of that. No one wants that again.
So when someone suggests another emergency meeting, shouting “R1 million is gone” without evidence, or accusing the HOA of misconduct without context—remember:
It’s not just one email.
It’s not just one resident.
It’s not just one issue.
It’s about how our community chooses to govern itself.
When memory fades, misinformation grows.