Cape Town - ACDP Western Cape provincial chairperson Ferlon Christians has signed a deal with the DA on the Knysna Council in a bid to put the DA back in charge of the municipality.
The DA has 10 of the 21 seats on the council and needs an extra vote to take the reins of the municipality from the ANC, Cope and KUC-led coalition.
Christians said: “We will not work in a coalition with the DA. Councillor Patrick Makhetha will not be part of the executive; instead he will chair the municipal public accounts committee (MPAC).
“We will keep the DA accountable, and we will always vote for the best interests of the people of Knysna,” said Christians.
DA Knysna Constituency head Dion George said: “The ACDP will vote to install a DA government. We look at each council on its merits and a DA government in Knysna is what the people want.”
The move comes barely two months after the ACDP’s Ian Uys resigned as a councillor and chairperson of the MPAC, citing corruption and non-co-operation from fellow councillors and the municipal administration.
ANC provincial spokesperson on local government Danville Smith said: “The move is a serious setback for the people of Knysna, but one which the ANC will have to fix in the 2021 local government elections by getting a clear majority on the council.”
Smith said: “The ANC will have to continue to play its effective opposition role to ensure that the norm of disservice for poor communities where the DA governs does not repeat itself in Knysna.”
“It is a shame that the ACDP is prepared to sell its soul to jump into the political bed of expediency with the tainted DA,” said Smith.
DA provincial leader Bonginkosi Madikizela said: “It’s an arrangement, not a coalition. The ACDP will be playing an oversight role as MPAC chair.”
Cape Argus