Oudtshoorn mayor faces motion of no confidence

Oudtshoorn Mayor Chad Louw, 25, faces a motion of no confidence

Oudtshoorn Mayor Chad Louw, 25, faces a motion of no confidence

Published Jun 19, 2022

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AFTER a mere seven months in the top job, Chad Louw faces being ousted as mayor of Oudtshoorn after a member of the Patriotic Alliance (PA) asked for a motion of no confidence to be tabled in the next council sitting, Weekend Argus can reveal.

PA member Suzane Jansen sent a letter to the beleaguered municipal manager Walter Hendricks, who also faces a fresh suspension himself, requesting the speaker to introduce the motion at the next council meeting.

The ANC’s Louw, 25, was appointed mayor after the November 2021 local government elections. He is the youngest mayor in the history of South Africa.

The ANC gained control of the municipality after entering into a coalition government with multiple parties to oust the DA.

Jansen’s letter was seconded by the Advieskantoor member Leon Campher which was signed on Friday.

In her letter to Hendricks, Jansen listed five issued she said necessitated the motion. The allegations against Louw were listed as follows:

* failure to provide political leadership and the failure to report to council the alleged fraud or attempted fraud in excess of R3 million;

* failure to provide leadership in addressing service delivery issues with reference to open spaces, the transgression of the Environmental Act and the continuous storm water issues the residents are experiencing.

* failure to institute measures to prevent the continuous flooding of residences due to non-performance of the acting municipal manager and senior managers reporting to the latter;

* failure to monitor the budget resulting in money not being spent on capital projects including R10 million for the upgrade of Bongolethu stadium, R2 million for De Jager Sport Grounds and the Bridgton swimming pool, and R20 million loan for other capital projects and under spending of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) projects.

The ANC’s leader of the opposition in the Western Cape Cameron Dugmore said this move amounted to “rogue behaviour” by both PA and Advieskantoor who were part of a coalition agreement in the municipality.

“It is in complete breach of the signed coalition agreement,” he said.

“We are very concerned that this matter was never discussed in the coalition management committee (CMC).

“We will raise this serious breach at the next CMC. Our provincial leadership will also report the conduct of the PA councillor to her national leadership.”

Weekend Argus understands there’s a signed coalition agreement in place which outlines the way disputes should be lodged and addressed.

According to this agreement both Jansen and Campher’s grievances should have been raised within the CMC. If the matter stays unresolved then there’s a process of arbitration that should be followed.

Jansen refused to comment to questions from Weekend Argus while Louw could not be reached.

Hendricks confirmed receipt of the letter.

“I did receive it,” he said, adding that council is set to deal with the matter.

“It will be tabled at the next council meeting which will be held at June 30 latest.”

Hendricks further said that the move came as no surprise as there was political instability in the municipality.

“There’s been political instability for a while there and it’s causing all kinds of problems from an administrative level as well. They need to get their house in order.”

In March, PA leader Gayton McKenzie threatened to pull out of the Oudtshoorn coalition with the ANC but a month later he was elected as mayor of Central Karoo District Municipality where his party shares power with the ANC.

McKenzie, according to insiders, might be ousted if a breach was found within the coalition agreement.

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