The dramatic announcement by the ANC in the midnight hours that the Mayor and the Speaker of the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality (Kimberley and surrounds) as well as the Mayor of the Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality (Upington and surrounds) will be replaced serves as an acknowledgement of a municipal crisis in the province.
The crisis extends far beyond these two Municipalities, though.
This step follows Sol Plaatje’s downgrade from a category 5 municipality to category 4 last week and The Hawks’ in-depth investigation into the Dawid Kruiper Municipality.
In Sol Plaatje, the appointment of the green Kagisho Sonyoni as Mayor was controversial from the outset.
Although he undoubtedly has potential, it requires quite a bit of experience to act as Mayor of such a large and vast Municipality. The pressure on him kept mounting with the ongoing water crisis and decaying infrastructure.
In addition, the ANC’s paper-thin majority was overthrown in a recent by-election in which the PA won Ward 1. So, it is parties such as the PA and Good that keep the ANC in power. What is needed is meticulous management of the Council.
ANC faction fights within Sol Plaatje is probably another contributing factor. It has been hampering the Council’s functioning for quite some time; in addition, it could cause the ANC’s plans to be thwarted in a secret vote.
The selection of new office-bearers is nearly as dramatic as the replacements themselves.
Mrs. Martha Bartlett, the ANC’s new mayoral candidate, is a native of Kimberley and an ANC veteran. She served as an executive councillor (provincial “minister”) before she was deployed to the National Assembly (NA) in 2020. She is well known for her amicable personality.
The Speaker candidate, Mrs Dipuo Peters, is one of the ANC’s hotheads. In the past, she served as Premier of the Northern Cape as well as the national Minister of Transport and of Energy.
At present, she is serving as the Deputy Minister of Small Business Development. It looks like the ANC wants someone who can crack the whip to hold that office.
While Peters served as Minister, though, she was highly controversial and action was taken against her on more than one occasion. She, for example, dismissed the PRASA board of directors which uncovered R14 billion in irregularities.
In Dawid Kruiper, the current Mayor, Michael Sigede, is moved to the NA. There is a possibility that he may be replaced as a result of irregularities uncovered by The Hawks, without being held accountable. His replacement, David Kazi, is currently not a member of the Council and is less known among the community.
The ANC is clearly starting to get anxious about the upcoming local government elections. The party could lose both these Municipalities.
The FF Plus is very excited by such a prospect. Governments of Local Unity, in which no party can impose its will on the rest, could become the norm.
Meanwhile, the question of why the MEC for Cooperative Governance, Bentley Vass, is still in office remains. During his tenure, many municipalities in the province made unlawful appointments and infrastructure seriously decayed.
In the FF Plus’s view, it is time for Vass to pursue career possibilities outside of politics.
