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Swellendam has a DA and FF Plus problem — sudden resignation leaves no mayor, no speaker

Swellendam has a DA and FF Plus problem — sudden resignation leaves no mayor, no speaker
Suné Payne
By Suné Payne
3 Feb 2025
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The Western Cape’s Swellendam council is now officially leaderless following Monday’s resignation of speaker Juan van Schalkwyk. Just last week, mayor Francois du Rand was removed in a motion of no confidence. This is the latest in a series of dramas involving the DA, ANC and FF Plus.

On Monday, 3 February, Swellendam’s Freedom Front Plus council speaker Juan van Schalkwyk resigned from the council, leaving the municipality without a speaker and again, a mayor. 

Van Schalkwyk said he refused to vote back into the mayoral seat Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor Francois du Rand. He said he did not want to “be reduced to a pawn in this reckless, dysfunctional coalition”. 

Monday’s council sitting was the latest in a saga of multiple twists and turns in the relationships between the DA, Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) and the ANC.

Last week, the ANC – with Van Schalkwyk’s help – successfully removed Du Rand in a motion of no confidence. According to the ANC, the motion was based on “documented evidence, legislative violations and community feedback regarding the performance and conduct of the mayor”. 

On Monday, councillors gathered to elect a new mayor, with reassurances that the FF Plus, through Van Schalkwyk, would vote for a DA candidate. 

In a series of statements over the weekend, the DA and FF Plus agreed to vote for the DA’s Du Rand on the condition that investigations would be held into allegations against Du Rand and Van Schalkwyk. 

During the vote, Du Rand and the ANC’s Julian Matthyssen each received five votes. 

There was one abstention – Van Schakwyk’s – leaving no mayor. Van Schalkwyk then resigned. 

Coalition chaos


A statement by Van Schalkwyk said he had refused to cast a vote for Du Rand and claimed the former mayor had not acted in the interests of Swellendam residents.

“I will not be reduced to a pawn in this reckless, dysfunctional coalition. I refuse to be a rubber stamp for the DA, as the Freedom Front Plus has so openly and shamelessly done.”

FF Plus Western Cape leader Dr Corné Mulder said the party had noted Van Schalkwyk’s resignation from the council and the party.

“Mr Van Schalkwyk’s conduct and resignation run counter to the decision taken by the FF Plus’s executive structures in the interest of justice, transparency and credibility,” said Mulder. 

“The FF Plus is committed to being a reliable coalition partner and will continue to fulfil this role for the people of the Western Cape.” 

ANC Western Cape provincial spokesperson Muhammad Khalid Sayed told Daily Maverick on Monday that the party was not surprised by events in Swellendam. The party – the opposition in council – blamed the DA, claiming the party was behind the municipal instability. 

“We reiterate our call and our stance that the only manner in which Swellendam is going to be pulled right, is going to be governed correctly, is going to have clean governance where the residents are going to be served, is through the formation of a government of local unity,” said Sayed. 

The DA, on the other hand, welcomed Van Schalkwyk’s resignation. Western Cape provincial chairperson Jaco Londt said the party was looking “forward to the finalisation of the stabilisation pact, which will bring much-needed calm in the run-up to 2026”. 

Behind the instability


Swellendam’s 11-seat council is hung – the ANC and DA each hold five seats with the FF Plus holding the final seat. 

 

After the 2021 municipal elections, Swellendam has been run by a coalition of the DA and FF Plus. The DA held the mayoral chain while the FF Plus held the role of speaker. The small municipality has no deputy mayor. 

There have since been several issues. In 2023, violent service delivery protests over the municipality’s indigent policies saw the municipal building burnt down. Daily Maverick reported that beyond the protests, the Overberg District, in which Swellendam falls, was divided not just by the N2, but by class and race lines. 

Read more: Divided and riven with discontent — a deep dive into Swellendam

Daily Maverick also reported that Swellendam had regressed from a clean audit – but this was partly due to the August 2023 protests and the municipality’s records being lost in the fire. The municipality dropped from a clean audit to a financially unqualified with findings opinion during the 2022/2023 audit cycle. 

In December 2024, Du Rand announced that the municipality had received a clean audit in the 2023/2024 audit cycle. 

Rumours of unrest in the council began in 2024. News24 reported on an allegation that some within the DA had offered a R2-million bribe to an ANC ward councillor in a bid to trigger a by-election in the tightly contested municipality. The DA refuted the allegation, according to the news report.

The allegation, among others, was put forth as a reason for the successful motion against Du Rand last week. 

Sayed told Daily Maverick the ANC was not surprised at instability in Swellendam, claiming that it had been “orchestrated by the Democratic Alliance”. 

“The reason for the instability in Swellendam, the reason as to why Swellendam cannot elect a speaker and a mayor, is because the DA continues to stand in defence of the former mayor of Swellendam Municipality … imposing him as a mayor for the people of Swellendam, whilst even its coalition partner in Swellendam, the Freedom Front Plus, through the former speaker, opposes this particular mayor to come back,” said Sayed. 

The fight among the parties – particularly between the DA and FF Plus – appears to have been brewing since the FF Plus emerged as the ANC’s partner in ousting the DA in Western Cape municipalities such as Oudtshoorn and Theewaterskloof. 

Read more: ANC and FF Plus join forces in new local governance model in Western Cape

This caused unhappiness between the DA and FF Plus, which has resulted in party leaders John Steenhuisen (DA) and Pieter Groenewald (FF Plus) working on finalising a coalition stabilisation pact. 

“The FF+ in the Western Cape, led by Corne Mulder, has been actively working to undermine governments and oust DA mayors in the province. Despite efforts by the National FF+ leader and DA leadership to stabilise coalitions, the Swellendam councillor was involved in this campaign,” said the DA’s Londt. DM

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