ANC cries foul over being removed from power in Oudtshoorn

Newly Oudtshoorn Municipality council

Newly Oudtshoorn Municipality council

Published Jul 1, 2022

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Cape Town - The newly-elected Oudtshoorn Municipality council has vowed to rescue the town from reaching breaking point.

This as the ANC in the province has said the meeting where the DA’s Chris Macpherson was elected mayor, Saamstaan councillor Mlandeli Nyuka elected his deputy and Johan Allers of VF Plus elected Speaker Mayor, on Wednesday was “irregular”.

Macpherson said the new leadership was elected after the ANC coalition walked out of the council meeting “to try and avoid a motion of no confidence”.

“The majority of councillors then requested the Speaker to convene a meeting at a time of their request which he denied. The majority of councillors then requested, according to prescribed legislation, that the acting municipal manager convene the meeting. During the subsequent quorated meeting the new council was elected,” he said.

“We had to intervene, Oudtshoorn was reaching a breaking point. The major problem… (was) there was no service delivery because the whole time they were fighting for positions and they were fighting for contracts. They were serving their interests and they never got to attend to service delivery issues.”

The election of the new leadership follows weeks of political turmoil within the caucus and a few weeks after the Patriotic Alliance (PA) called for the previous ANC mayor Chad Louw to be removed, charging he had failed to provide political leadership.

ANC head of communications, Sifiso Mtsweni said the council meeting where the new council was elected was “irregular” and they were taking legal advice on the matter.

“We, as we are engaging on these latest developments, are taking legal advice on these matters. The DA now feels it’s okay to proudly get into a coalition with Icosa which is led by a convicted child molester that they decried before. Is this not hypocritical? Maybe you need to ask that,” said Mtsweni.

DA Provincial Leader Tertius Simmers said they were fully confident in the new leadership.

“The DA is fully confident that the newly elected leadership of the Oudtshoorn Municipality. I am not aware of any reason to question compliance with all relevant legislation and regulations and rules of order. I am also not aware of any procedural challenge relating to the removal of the ANC executive mayor by a motion of no confidence brought by two smaller parties in Council. The ANC must accept that the fundamental basis of democracy at municipal council level has prevailed by majority vote,” he said.

Forum for Anti-corruption and Service Delivery Oudtshoorn (FASO) founder Emile Cupido said it remains to be seen whether the new council will serve the interests of the residents.

“Oudtshoorn's council swings back a DA Council in the blink of an eye after Suid-kaap Saamstaan ​​is back. So this means the ANC, Patriotic Alliance, GOOD, Advice Office and Oudtshoorn Community Initiative’s control over Oudtshoorn has come to an end.

The question is will this new Executive Council act in the interests of their respective parties or will they act in the interests of the residents? Time will tell,“ he said.

Cape Times

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