Quinton Mtyala
Political Writer
Despite late challenges, the DA will by next week control most of the Western Cape’s 13 hung municipalities after striking deals with smaller parties which were finalised this week.
In Matzikama (Vredendal), John Bock of the smaller New Generation Party will become the municipality’s deputy mayor.
Bock’s brother, Patric, who is the former mayor, returns as a ward councillor.
Bitou’s municipality is set to meet on Monday after a last-minute court application by the ANC, demanding that the IEC recount special votes, was dismissed on Wednesday. There the DA will rule in coalition with Cope.
In Langeberg’s (Robertson) 23-seat council, the DA’s 11 councillors will rule the municipality with the aid of one independent councillor.
In Witzenberg (Ceres), an independent councillor became the kingmaker, and was included in the mayoral committee, allowing the DA to rule the municipality.
Botha said the party had drawn up a national agreement with Cope, with an annexure at each municipality on how it would govern.
But in Hessequa, Cope’s councillor Johan Fienies refused an order to co-operate with the DA and faces dismissal from his party when he appears at a hearing on Monday.
Swellendam’s hung municipality will also meet on Monday, with the DA agreeing to hand the Speaker’s job to the ACDP, along with giving the party two delegated slots at the Eden District Municipality.
The ACDP’s councillors will take up two mayoral committee positions in Eden.
In Swellendam, the new mayor, expected to be Nicholas Myburgh, will have to deal with a municipality faced with numerous operational challenges, and claims by opposition parties that the previous DA-controlled council failed to prioritise economic growth.
“We want to provide good basic services to all communities in Swellendam. Poverty and unemployment remains our biggest challenge,” said Myburgh.
He added that, unlike the previous mayor, Jan Jansen, who saw the municipality as a job creator, the private sector was the only one which could create sustainable jobs.
Jansen, who ran as an independent after being dumped by the DA, said that he was booted because he complained that black and coloured people were being disadvantaged by decisions taken in the council.
Botha said the relationship with Cope would be much better than the one the party had with the ID after they signed a co-operation agreement in 2007.
“We will have a more stable relationship with Cope than the one we had with the ID.
“With Cope we’re only dealing with one councillor at each of the municipalities, which was not the same case with the ID,” said Botha.
For their co-operation with the DA, Cope will be accommodated on the mayoral committees of the George, Theewaterskloof and Berg River municipalities.