Cape Town - The DA’s federal executive has hinted they may have blurred the lines between party and state in its handling of the embattled Oudtshoorn municipality.
This comes in the wake of the party’s provincial leadership being given a dressing-down by members at the weekend, over decisions taken regarding the fate of the Klein Karoo town.
DA insiders say the party’s top three in the province were in the hot seat with provincial leader Patricia de Lille, her deputy Bonginkosi Madikizela, and DA provincial chairman Anton Bredell being questioned for more than two hours on Saturday, by the Federal Executive in Durban, over actions taken in the beleaguered municipality.
Senior party members claimed that the national leadership stopped short of taking disciplinary steps against the trio with “hard words being exchanged”.
Informed party members confirmed that the federal executive has been demanding the council be placed under administration - with no mayor being appointed for the town - while the provincial leadership has opted for a recovery plan and a full mayoral committee to drive it.
The tension between the DA’s federal executive and its provincial and regional structures became apparent earlier this month, when it intervened at the eleventh hour to stop the DA in Oudtshoorn from taking over the town’s council during a special council meeting.
The party’s planned takeover bid for the municipality had to be shelved for a week as new developments unfolded.
Newly elected Oudtshoorn mayor, the DA’s Wessie van der Westhuizen, penned a scathing letter opposing the plan to place the municipality under administration, only to withdraw it a day later.
In response to questions concerning the developments in Oudtshoorn, the DA’s federal chair, James Selfe, made it clear that the party only agreed to take over the running of the municipality on condition that it “be placed under administration as soon as possible”.
The DA-Cope majority agreed to the Integrated Development Plan for the area, and had approved the budget for it.
As part of the takeover negotiations, the provincial DA leadership had to provide a clear plan to the party’s national executive that it would able to provide efficient and corruption-free government to the people of that municipality.
According to Selfe, they were provided with the necessary clarification.
Selfe said: “Once the requisite legal requirements have been complied with, the council will be placed under administration.”
When asked about separation of powers in the DA, Local Government MEC Anton Bredell stressed that the views of the federal council wouldn’t influence the work of the MEC, nor were they an instruction.
“In the case of Oudtshoorn, 22 councillors wrote to (Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin) Gordhan asking us to intervene and put them under administration,” Bredell said, adding that the town has severe challenges that impact on service delivery as well as finances.
He said the DA allowed open debate and in seeking solutions to the problems in Oudtshoorn, administration would be “part of that debate”.
“It’s any political party’s right to view their opinion on what they see as the solution to fix problems,” Bredell added.
Cape Argus