DA calls for Knysna council to be dissolved and new elections to be held

Levael Davis, the Democratic Alliance (DA) caucus leader in the Knysna Municipality, has submitted a motion to dissolve the council — an extreme measure he said was needed because the council was too fragmented to elect a stable majority government.

This will be the second motion against the political leadership in Knysna in as many weeks. On Thursday, a motion of no confidence will be heard against African National Congress (ANC) Mayor Aubrey Tsengwa.

The separate motions were submitted by the DA and the Knysna Independent Movement (KIM), which are in opposition to the governing ANC-led coalition.

“The mayor acknowledges the right of any councillor or political party to submit motions in accordance with the rules of council,” said Tsengwa in response to queries on Wednesday afternoon.

The Garden Route municipality, known for its Oyster Festival, Blue Flag beaches and seahorses, has made headlines for its fragmented council leadership and service delivery problems which caused the provincial government to force the municipality to adopt a support plan this year.

On Wednesday, Knysna Council Speaker Mncedisi Skosana confirmed to Daily Maverick receipt of the DA’s motion.

Skosana said, “The next step is to table the matter before the council, which must occur within six working days of receiving the correspondence. The date for the council meeting will be communicated in due course.”

The motion read: “The reality is that Knysna is too fragmented to elect a stable majority government under the current council configuration. The only way to resolve this problem is to dissolve the municipal council, call for fresh elections and elect a DA majority government to bring back stable government and service delivery excellence to rescue Knysna.”

This, the letter said, was the “only legislative remedy to the over-fragmentation of the current council make-up, which has rendered it impossible to elect and sustain a stable majority government with the interests of the residents of Knysna at heart”.

The DA has launched multiple attempts to dissolve councils countrywide, but has yet to be successful. In Knysna, however, its coalition is just one seat short of a majority.

No-confidence motion

The no-confidence motion against the mayor was lodged by KIM, a party which has two seats in the council. It alleged there was an improper process between the municipality and a local business.

One of KIM’s posts on Facebook had to be removed after lawyers for the local business claimed the post was defamatory.

Knysna was one of 16 hung councils in the Western Cape after the 2021 municipal elections. The DA and ANC have eight seats each. KIM and the Patriotic Alliance (PA) have two seats each and the Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners (PBI) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have one seat each.

The council is split between the DA-KIM coalition on one side and a coalition composed of the ANC-PA-PBI on the other. The EFF has often emerged as a kingmaker — voting for a DA-KIM coalition in November 2021, then voting for an ANC-PA-PBI coalition to govern in August 2022.

That coalition still leads the council.

Read more: DA-led alliance loses power in Knysna council to ANC-led coalition 

The DA has dubbed the ANC-PA-PBI coalition a “coalition of corruption”. It has been dogged by claims of irregularities, including issues regarding the hiring of political staff, high rate increases and service delivery problems.

“Furthermore, the collapse of Knysna's refuse removal services in December 2023, warranted a full-scale intervention by the DA-led provincial government to rescue the municipality from drowning in its own rubbish,” read the motion by Davis.

Daily Maverick reported at the time about sewage spills and a water shortage in the municipality. Political parties in the municipality blamed each other for the crisis.

Read more: Knysna’s water and sanitation problems fuel constant political blame game in coalition government

Support plan

In March, the municipality adopted a support plan put together by it and the provincial government. A 109-page diagnostic report highlighted issues including a communication breakdown between councillors and the community, water and financial issues and infrastructure problems.

On 13 August, the municipality said progress had been made in some areas. These included the creation of communication strategies and filling vacancies. It said there would be workshops on anti-corruption, fraud and ethics for councillors and municipal officials.

Read more: ‘When two elephants fight, it’s the grass that suffers — and Knysna is the grass’

“The DA has done everything to constructively engage the mayor, municipal manager/s, and senior officials to ensure that Knysna is salvaged from further collapse. Instead, our relentless efforts have only been met with constant excuses of infrastructure collapse and sabotage, and no will or desire to action effective long-term plans to address the town's rapid collapse,” said Davis.

Meanwhile, Western Cape MEC for Local Government, Development Planning and Environmental Affairs Anton Bredell’s office said the municipality had made some progress regarding issues identified in the recovery plan.

His spokesperson, Wouter Kriel, told Daily Maverick on Tuesday, “The waste transfer station has made progress, and we congratulate them in that regard. Several other issues, such as sewage and wastewater management still need attention, and the [Western Cape government] will continue to offer support and work with the municipality to improve in those areas. We are committed to Knysna for the long haul.”

Daily Maverick reported in January that Julie Lopes, a former DA council speaker, asked that Knysna be placed under administration. DM