Knysna has been left without a mayor or functioning mayoral committee after councillors failed to elect a replacement for Thando Matika, creating a political vacuum over the departments responsible for running the town.
The special council meeting called on Wednesday to elect a new mayor collapsed when councillors failed to form a quorum.
Only nine councillors attended the meeting, but 11 were needed for it to continue.
The failure leaves the municipality without a political structure to oversee municipal departments.
The vacuum is unfolding against the backdrop of the widening ANC-SACP rift ahead of the November 4 elections.
The ANC has been reduced to just three serving councillors in the 21-seat Knysna council, with four seats now vacant following the removal of Matika, Ward 3 councillor Lukhanyiso Nohana and Ward 7 councillor Mboneli Khumelwana over their SACP alignment, as well as the death of former mayor Aubrey Tsengwa.
The ANC’s three remaining councillors — Kay Andrews, Russel Arends and Pindile Petros — were all absent from the special sitting to elect a new mayor.
After the 2021 elections, the ANC had seven seats. Its coalition partners are the EFF and the Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners (PBI).
The DA has eight seats, KIM and the PA two each, and the EFF and PBI one each.
Western Cape local government MEC Anton Bredell said the municipality was formally informed on September 18 that the ANC removed Matika and another councillor.
He was not aware of the third ANC councillor.
“Because a mayor must be a serving councillor, Matika’s removal from his position as a councillor resulted in the mayoral committee being dissolved, leaving the municipality without a mayor or functioning Mayco,” Bredell said.
Bredell said the council itself had not collapsed and remained the municipality’s highest decision-making body.
But he confirmed the sitting could not proceed because of the lack of a quorum.
“The council has not collapsed.
“The scheduled sitting could not proceed because certain councillors failed to attend, leaving the chamber without the required quorum,” he said.
Speaker Mark Willemse said the meeting had been “purposely collapsed”, describing the conduct as contrary to the code of conduct and rules of order.
He has also raised concerns about repeated absenteeism at special council meetings, including an earlier sitting in which councillors requested a caucus but did not return to the chamber.
“I have taken the liberty to send that report, as well as the information on the meetings that have been missed, to Bredell anyway,” Willemse said.
He said councillors who repeatedly failed to attend meetings could face consequences, including processes that could ultimately result in the loss of their seats.
DA councillor Hilton Stroebel, EFF councillor Neil Louw and PA councillor Richard Kakora requested leave because of illness, while deputy mayor Morton Gericke, of the Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners, sent apologies.
The absent ANC councillors were Andrews, Arends and Petros. PA councillor Beauty Charlie was also absent.
ANC provincial spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni said the departures of Matika, Nohana and Khumelwana, together with the death of Tsengwa, had destabilised the municipality.
However, he said the ANC’s coalition agreements remained in place, and the municipality continued to operate ahead of the November 4 elections.
“Of course, the departure of the mayor and two other councillors, inclusive of the untimely and tragic passing of another councillor, does have a destabilising effect,” Mtsweni said.
DA Knysna constituency head Ryan Smith described the situation as “complete and utter dysfunction”, blaming the council’s fragmentation.
“This is what happens when voters split the vote among many small parties — the ANC will inevitably cobble together a coalition that plays musical mayors over a five-year term at the municipality’s expense,” Smith said.
Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world.
The Herald