All Article Properties:
{
"access_control": false,
"status": "publish",
"objectType": "Article",
"id": "1654860",
"signature": "Article:1654860",
"url": "https://staging.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-04-19-beaufort-west-councillor-switches-from-da-to-pa-and-days-later-becomes-municipal-manager/",
"shorturl": "https://staging.dailymaverick.co.za/article/1654860",
"slug": "beaufort-west-councillor-switches-from-da-to-pa-and-days-later-becomes-municipal-manager",
"contentType": {
"id": "1",
"name": "Article",
"slug": "article"
},
"views": 0,
"comments": 1,
"preview_limit": null,
"excludedFromGoogleSearchEngine": 0,
"title": "Beaufort West councillor switches from DA to PA — and days later becomes municipal manager ",
"firstPublished": "2023-04-19 21:40:31",
"lastUpdate": "2023-04-20 08:57:22",
"categories": [
{
"id": "22",
"name": "Politics",
"signature": "Category:22",
"slug": "politics",
"typeId": {
"typeId": "1",
"name": "Daily Maverick",
"slug": "",
"includeInIssue": "0",
"shortened_domain": "",
"stylesheetClass": "",
"domain": "staging.dailymaverick.co.za",
"articleUrlPrefix": "",
"access_groups": "[]",
"locale": "",
"preview_limit": null
},
"parentId": null,
"parent": [],
"image": "",
"cover": "",
"logo": "",
"paid": "0",
"objectType": "Category",
"url": "https://staging.dailymaverick.co.za/category/politics/",
"cssCode": "",
"template": "default",
"tagline": "",
"link_param": null,
"description": "",
"metaDescription": "",
"order": "0",
"pageId": null,
"articlesCount": null,
"allowComments": "1",
"accessType": "freecount",
"status": "1",
"children": [],
"cached": true
},
{
"id": "29",
"name": "South Africa",
"signature": "Category:29",
"slug": "south-africa",
"typeId": {
"typeId": "1",
"name": "Daily Maverick",
"slug": "",
"includeInIssue": "0",
"shortened_domain": "",
"stylesheetClass": "",
"domain": "staging.dailymaverick.co.za",
"articleUrlPrefix": "",
"access_groups": "[]",
"locale": "",
"preview_limit": null
},
"parentId": null,
"parent": [],
"image": "",
"cover": "",
"logo": "",
"paid": "0",
"objectType": "Category",
"url": "https://staging.dailymaverick.co.za/category/south-africa/",
"cssCode": "",
"template": "default",
"tagline": "",
"link_param": null,
"description": "Daily Maverick is an independent online news publication and weekly print newspaper in South Africa.\r\n\r\nIt is known for breaking some of the defining stories of South Africa in the past decade, including the Marikana Massacre, in which the South African Police Service killed 34 miners in August 2012.\r\n\r\nIt also investigated the Gupta Leaks, which won the 2019 Global Shining Light Award.\r\n\r\nThat investigation was credited with exposing the Indian-born Gupta family and former President Jacob Zuma for their role in the systemic political corruption referred to as state capture.\r\n\r\nIn 2018, co-founder and editor-in-chief Branislav ‘Branko’ Brkic was awarded the country’s prestigious Nat Nakasa Award, recognised for initiating the investigative collaboration after receiving the hard drive that included the email tranche.\r\n\r\nIn 2021, co-founder and CEO Styli Charalambous also received the award.\r\n\r\nDaily Maverick covers the latest political and news developments in South Africa with breaking news updates, analysis, opinions and more.",
"metaDescription": "",
"order": "0",
"pageId": null,
"articlesCount": null,
"allowComments": "1",
"accessType": "freecount",
"status": "1",
"children": [],
"cached": true
},
{
"id": "387188",
"name": "Maverick News",
"signature": "Category:387188",
"slug": "maverick-news",
"typeId": {
"typeId": "1",
"name": "Daily Maverick",
"slug": "",
"includeInIssue": "0",
"shortened_domain": "",
"stylesheetClass": "",
"domain": "staging.dailymaverick.co.za",
"articleUrlPrefix": "",
"access_groups": "[]",
"locale": "",
"preview_limit": null
},
"parentId": null,
"parent": [],
"image": "",
"cover": "",
"logo": "",
"paid": "0",
"objectType": "Category",
"url": "https://staging.dailymaverick.co.za/category/maverick-news/",
"cssCode": "",
"template": "default",
"tagline": "",
"link_param": null,
"description": "",
"metaDescription": "",
"order": "0",
"pageId": null,
"articlesCount": null,
"allowComments": "1",
"accessType": "freecount",
"status": "1",
"children": [],
"cached": true
}
],
"content_length": 3326,
"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The South African Communist Party (SACP) has warned that the Beaufort West municipality “is in more trouble than ever” after the appointment of Derick Welgemoed as the acting municipal manager, effective from 1 May. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Welgemoed was appointed as acting municipal manager during a council sitting in Beaufort West on Tuesday, 18 April. He was a Beaufort West councillor for the Democratic Alliance (DA) up until last week when the Patriotic Alliance (PA) president, Gayton McKenzie, announced that Welgemoed had joined the party. </span>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\r\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I wanna welcome Councillor Derek Welgemoed from the DA to <a href=\"https://twitter.com/OnsBaizaNie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@OnsBaizaNie</a>, he is joining the fastest growing political party. Welcome Councillor ? <a href=\"https://t.co/z2OQkSrhTL\">pic.twitter.com/z2OQkSrhTL</a></p>\r\n— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GaytonMcK/status/1646532137401700352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 13, 2023</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick</span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> tried to get comment from Beaufort West Mayor Ashley Sauls about the appointment, but calls and texts to his phone numbers went unanswered, and calls and texts to Welgemoed also went unanswered. </span>\r\n\r\n<b>Read more in Daily Maverick:</b> <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-02-13-beaufort-west-gets-former-joburg-councillor-as-new-pa-mayor-but-not-everyone-is-happy/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beaufort West gets former Joburg councillor as new PA mayor — but not everyone is happy</span></a>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SACP’s Central Karoo region spokesperson, Mawonga Furmen, told </span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick </span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on Wednesday that PA leader Gayton McKenzie, who “instructed the PA/KDF/ANC coalition to vote for this appointment at all cost, once mocked Derick Welgemoed as ‘a DA councillor who owes the municipality R600,000 in electricity’ in reference to disputes between the DA and PA over </span><a href=\"https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/gayton-mckenzie-da-lock-horns-over-threats-to-cut-power-to-businesses-that-owe-the-municipality-20220707\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">electricity bills</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the region”. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Welgemoed was a municipal manager at Beaufort West from 1996 to 2006. In 2018, he became a councillor when the DA won a ward from the ANC during a by-election. He became the speaker of the council in February 2021, but he was removed soon after through a no-confidence motion by the ANC and the KDF. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently, the Beaufort West municipality is run by a PA/ANC/KDF coalition while the DA and the Good party are in opposition. </span>\r\n\r\n<b>Read more in Daily Maverick:</b> <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/coalition-government/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coalition Country</span></a>\r\n\r\n<b>Current Beaufort West council composition </b>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1654867 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Current-Beaufort-West-council-composition.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"403\" /> <em>Source: IEC 2021 elections dashboard</em></p>\r\n<h4><b>Welgemoed must serve with integrity</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“We call on Mr Welgemoed to serve the community with integrity… concentrate on much-needed consequent management, and… put the values of the community first,” said Schaun Meyers, a DA councillor in Beaufort West. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The PA-ANC coalition in Beaufort West has once again proven that they are ardent supporters of cadre deployment… Mr Welgemoed, former DA councillor, jumped ship to the Patriotic Alliance to fill the position of acting municipal manager at the Beaufort West municipality, starting 1 May 2023,” said Meyers. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The DA caucus expected the announcement, since “Mr Welgemoed started to vote against his caucus in favour of the coalition government”, said Meyers. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The DA raised questions on the sudden suspicious postponement of the interview process to employ the much-needed municipal manager to bring stability into the financially strained municipality,” he added. </span>\r\n\r\n<b>Read more in Daily Maverick:</b> <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-07-26-new-businesses-bring-relief-to-beaufort-west-but-municipal-financial-woes-hinder-progress/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New businesses bring relief to Beaufort West, but municipal financial woes hinder progress</span></a>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Community activist Brian Jooste said the appointment of Welgemoed came as no surprise. What did surprise him was that “not even a week after he walked over to PA, he was appointed as acting municipal manager”. </span><b>DM</b>",
"teaser": "Beaufort West councillor switches from DA to PA — and days later becomes municipal manager ",
"externalUrl": "",
"sponsor": null,
"authors": [
{
"id": "1642",
"name": "Suné Payne",
"image": "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/Sune-Payne-Opinionista.jpg",
"url": "https://staging.dailymaverick.co.za/author/sune-payne/",
"editorialName": "sune-payne",
"department": "",
"name_latin": ""
}
],
"description": "",
"keywords": [
{
"type": "Keyword",
"data": {
"keywordId": "6617",
"name": "Patriotic Alliance",
"url": "https://staging.dailymaverick.co.za/keyword/patriotic-alliance/",
"slug": "patriotic-alliance",
"description": "",
"articlesCount": 0,
"replacedWith": null,
"display_name": "Patriotic Alliance",
"translations": null
}
},
{
"type": "Keyword",
"data": {
"keywordId": "57463",
"name": "Gayton McKenzie",
"url": "https://staging.dailymaverick.co.za/keyword/gayton-mckenzie/",
"slug": "gayton-mckenzie",
"description": "",
"articlesCount": 0,
"replacedWith": null,
"display_name": "Gayton McKenzie",
"translations": null
}
},
{
"type": "Keyword",
"data": {
"keywordId": "94072",
"name": "Beaufort West",
"url": "https://staging.dailymaverick.co.za/keyword/beaufort-west/",
"slug": "beaufort-west",
"description": "",
"articlesCount": 0,
"replacedWith": null,
"display_name": "Beaufort West",
"translations": null
}
},
{
"type": "Keyword",
"data": {
"keywordId": "113955",
"name": "cadre deployment",
"url": "https://staging.dailymaverick.co.za/keyword/cadre-deployment/",
"slug": "cadre-deployment",
"description": "",
"articlesCount": 0,
"replacedWith": null,
"display_name": "cadre deployment",
"translations": null
}
},
{
"type": "Keyword",
"data": {
"keywordId": "372283",
"name": "Karoo Democratic Force",
"url": "https://staging.dailymaverick.co.za/keyword/karoo-democratic-force/",
"slug": "karoo-democratic-force",
"description": "",
"articlesCount": 0,
"replacedWith": null,
"display_name": "Karoo Democratic Force",
"translations": null
}
},
{
"type": "Keyword",
"data": {
"keywordId": "376563",
"name": "Ashley Sauls",
"url": "https://staging.dailymaverick.co.za/keyword/ashley-sauls/",
"slug": "ashley-sauls",
"description": "",
"articlesCount": 0,
"replacedWith": null,
"display_name": "Ashley Sauls",
"translations": null
}
},
{
"type": "Keyword",
"data": {
"keywordId": "384560",
"name": "Suné Payne",
"url": "https://staging.dailymaverick.co.za/keyword/sune-payne/",
"slug": "sune-payne",
"description": "",
"articlesCount": 0,
"replacedWith": null,
"display_name": "Suné Payne",
"translations": null
}
},
{
"type": "Keyword",
"data": {
"keywordId": "400453",
"name": "Derick Welgemoed",
"url": "https://staging.dailymaverick.co.za/keyword/derick-welgemoed/",
"slug": "derick-welgemoed",
"description": "",
"articlesCount": 0,
"replacedWith": null,
"display_name": "Derick Welgemoed",
"translations": null
}
}
],
"short_summary": null,
"source": null,
"related": [],
"options": [],
"attachments": [
{
"id": "41314",
"name": "Source: IEC 2021 elections dashboard",
"description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The South African Communist Party (SACP) has warned that the Beaufort West municipality “is in more trouble than ever” after the appointment of Derick Welgemoed as the acting municipal manager, effective from 1 May. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Welgemoed was appointed as acting municipal manager during a council sitting in Beaufort West on Tuesday, 18 April. He was a Beaufort West councillor for the Democratic Alliance (DA) up until last week when the Patriotic Alliance (PA) president, Gayton McKenzie, announced that Welgemoed had joined the party. </span>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\r\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I wanna welcome Councillor Derek Welgemoed from the DA to <a href=\"https://twitter.com/OnsBaizaNie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@OnsBaizaNie</a>, he is joining the fastest growing political party. Welcome Councillor ? <a href=\"https://t.co/z2OQkSrhTL\">pic.twitter.com/z2OQkSrhTL</a></p>\r\n— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GaytonMcK/status/1646532137401700352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 13, 2023</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick</span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> tried to get comment from Beaufort West Mayor Ashley Sauls about the appointment, but calls and texts to his phone numbers went unanswered, and calls and texts to Welgemoed also went unanswered. </span>\r\n\r\n<b>Read more in Daily Maverick:</b> <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-02-13-beaufort-west-gets-former-joburg-councillor-as-new-pa-mayor-but-not-everyone-is-happy/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beaufort West gets former Joburg councillor as new PA mayor — but not everyone is happy</span></a>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SACP’s Central Karoo region spokesperson, Mawonga Furmen, told </span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick </span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on Wednesday that PA leader Gayton McKenzie, who “instructed the PA/KDF/ANC coalition to vote for this appointment at all cost, once mocked Derick Welgemoed as ‘a DA councillor who owes the municipality R600,000 in electricity’ in reference to disputes between the DA and PA over </span><a href=\"https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/gayton-mckenzie-da-lock-horns-over-threats-to-cut-power-to-businesses-that-owe-the-municipality-20220707\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">electricity bills</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the region”. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Welgemoed was a municipal manager at Beaufort West from 1996 to 2006. In 2018, he became a councillor when the DA won a ward from the ANC during a by-election. He became the speaker of the council in February 2021, but he was removed soon after through a no-confidence motion by the ANC and the KDF. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently, the Beaufort West municipality is run by a PA/ANC/KDF coalition while the DA and the Good party are in opposition. </span>\r\n\r\n<b>Read more in Daily Maverick:</b> <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/coalition-government/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coalition Country</span></a>\r\n\r\n<b>Current Beaufort West council composition </b>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1654867\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"720\"]<img class=\"wp-image-1654867 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Current-Beaufort-West-council-composition.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"403\" /> <em>Source: IEC 2021 elections dashboard</em>[/caption]\r\n<h4><b>Welgemoed must serve with integrity</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“We call on Mr Welgemoed to serve the community with integrity… concentrate on much-needed consequent management, and… put the values of the community first,” said Schaun Meyers, a DA councillor in Beaufort West. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The PA-ANC coalition in Beaufort West has once again proven that they are ardent supporters of cadre deployment… Mr Welgemoed, former DA councillor, jumped ship to the Patriotic Alliance to fill the position of acting municipal manager at the Beaufort West municipality, starting 1 May 2023,” said Meyers. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The DA caucus expected the announcement, since “Mr Welgemoed started to vote against his caucus in favour of the coalition government”, said Meyers. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The DA raised questions on the sudden suspicious postponement of the interview process to employ the much-needed municipal manager to bring stability into the financially strained municipality,” he added. </span>\r\n\r\n<b>Read more in Daily Maverick:</b> <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-07-26-new-businesses-bring-relief-to-beaufort-west-but-municipal-financial-woes-hinder-progress/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New businesses bring relief to Beaufort West, but municipal financial woes hinder progress</span></a>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Community activist Brian Jooste said the appointment of Welgemoed came as no surprise. What did surprise him was that “not even a week after he walked over to PA, he was appointed as acting municipal manager”. </span><b>DM</b>",
"focal": "50% 50%",
"width": 0,
"height": 0,
"url": "https://dmcdn.whitebeard.net/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FtmoPdxagAIiDba-1.jpeg",
"transforms": [
{
"x": "200",
"y": "100",
"url": "https://dmcdn.whitebeard.net/i/SNi60ySJypHX7LnwNi18YBGUHgQ=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif()/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FtmoPdxagAIiDba-1.jpeg"
},
{
"x": "450",
"y": "0",
"url": "https://dmcdn.whitebeard.net/i/jkO_P9nUjPSwF3TKGtvFaku4L7c=/450x0/smart/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FtmoPdxagAIiDba-1.jpeg"
},
{
"x": "800",
"y": "0",
"url": "https://dmcdn.whitebeard.net/i/86HyAzhLbWcBxaeRbEq0vphA25s=/800x0/smart/filters:strip_exif()/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FtmoPdxagAIiDba-1.jpeg"
},
{
"x": "1200",
"y": "0",
"url": "https://dmcdn.whitebeard.net/i/UQl3YGYjPFb1LLZnsQ4ve-unYCs=/1200x0/smart/filters:strip_exif()/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FtmoPdxagAIiDba-1.jpeg"
},
{
"x": "1600",
"y": "0",
"url": "https://dmcdn.whitebeard.net/i/Xx3Icf5yQ34Y20yCpIkoZ_aLFSY=/1600x0/smart/filters:strip_exif()/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FtmoPdxagAIiDba-1.jpeg"
}
],
"url_thumbnail": "https://dmcdn.whitebeard.net/i/SNi60ySJypHX7LnwNi18YBGUHgQ=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif()/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FtmoPdxagAIiDba-1.jpeg",
"url_medium": "https://dmcdn.whitebeard.net/i/jkO_P9nUjPSwF3TKGtvFaku4L7c=/450x0/smart/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FtmoPdxagAIiDba-1.jpeg",
"url_large": "https://dmcdn.whitebeard.net/i/86HyAzhLbWcBxaeRbEq0vphA25s=/800x0/smart/filters:strip_exif()/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FtmoPdxagAIiDba-1.jpeg",
"url_xl": "https://dmcdn.whitebeard.net/i/UQl3YGYjPFb1LLZnsQ4ve-unYCs=/1200x0/smart/filters:strip_exif()/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FtmoPdxagAIiDba-1.jpeg",
"url_xxl": "https://dmcdn.whitebeard.net/i/Xx3Icf5yQ34Y20yCpIkoZ_aLFSY=/1600x0/smart/filters:strip_exif()/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FtmoPdxagAIiDba-1.jpeg",
"type": "image"
}
],
"summary": "A former Democratic Alliance councillor in the Beaufort West municipality has been appointed as municipal manager just days after joining the Patriotic Alliance, which governs the Karoo municipality in a coalition with the Karoo Democratic Force and African National Congress. ",
"template_type": null,
"dm_custom_section_label": null,
"elements": [],
"seo": {
"search_title": "Beaufort West councillor switches from DA to PA — and days later becomes municipal manager ",
"search_description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The South African Communist Party (SACP) has warned that the Beaufort West municipality “is in more trouble than ever” after the appointment of Derick Welgemoed as the ",
"social_title": "Beaufort West councillor switches from DA to PA — and days later becomes municipal manager ",
"social_description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The South African Communist Party (SACP) has warned that the Beaufort West municipality “is in more trouble than ever” after the appointment of Derick Welgemoed as the ",
"social_image": ""
},
"cached": true,
"access_allowed": true
} 
Source: IEC 2021 elections dashboard