THE DA-led provincial government’s plan to dissolve the Knysna Municipality and place it under administration was dealt a blow when MPs serving on the Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Public Administration found there were no exceptional circumstances warranting such an intervention. 

“The decision not to support the dissolution was taken in accordance with Section 139 (3) which states that the dissolution takes effect 14 days from the date of receipt of the notice by the Council unless set aside by that Cabinet member or the Council before the expiry of those 14 days. The committee was of the view that there are no exceptional circumstances to warrant such an intervention. Following the committee’s visit to Knysna and its interaction with internal and external stakeholders, most of its members were of the view that there is strong stability at both administrative and governance levels of the Municipality,” the committee said in a brief statement. 

The decision on Friday came days after a robust meeting saw most stakeholders including local taxi associations, ratepayers associations and opposition parties reject Local Government MEC Anton Bredell’s “political motives” to dissolve council.

Bredell wanted to appoint an administrator to take over the duties of council, followed by fresh elections within 90 days to install new political leadership, citing service delivery issues. 

Knysna is currently under an ANC-led coalition government, which excludes the DA. 

The municipality maintained that visible progress was being made and investment was required to achieve its bigger goals of replacing the aging water and sanitation infrastructure. 

Reacting to the decision, Bredell accused members of the NCOP committee of making a “political decision” preventing the provincial government from saving Knysna from the foreseeable complete breakdown of service delivery.

“The decision of the NCOP has effectively put the Municipal Council back in charge of its own recovery and implementing support measures offered by the National and Provincial Government. Council’s track record has shown that it is unable to correct its self-inflicted governance failures, which is causing raw sewage to flow into streets, homes, and nearby waterways and the Knysna estuary, posing severe health and environmental risks.”

He said the provincial government will now not be able to utilise additional funding and resources that would have been permitted through a s139 Provincial Intervention to stabilize immediate operations and lay the groundwork for long-term governance improvements thereby enabling a comprehensive turnaround and trajectory correction. 

“The NCOP Select Committee has furthermore found that, in terms of the evidence provided by Councillors from Knysna Political Parties, Unions, external stakeholders (including KIG and the Business forum) and SALGA, it has become apparent that Knysna Municipality did not fail to perform its constitutional duties. I’m sure that most residents would disagree with this finding, and I hope that the residents of Knysna will understand that the Provincial Government’s hands have now been tied. No intervention by the Provincial Government will be successful when the political parties making up the Knysna governing coalition, through the NCOP, effectively have a veto right.” 

Knysna Independent Movement (KIM) councillor Susan Campbell said yesterday Bredell’s attempts to dissolve the council was a political decision.  

In her submission to the NCOP, Campbell said: “Two years ago, when residents were literally begging MEC Bredell to place Knysna under administration, he refused. During a visit to Council, in 2023, he told me that administration has not been successful elsewhere and he asked where he would find a suitable Administrator. Now that governance under a new Mayor and Speaker has significantly improved, all Senior Manager positions have been filled and MPAC (Municipal Public Accounts Committee) is in an advanced stage of investigating contracts relating to water and sewer, he wants to dissolve the Council. It is clear that the decision has not been made in the interest of improving service delivery in Knysna, but is purely political.”

She said Bredell failed to prove that exceptional circumstances, warranting the dissolution of Knysna Council, exist.

On Friday, Knysna Mayor Thando Matika said dissolving the council now after “inheriting years of DA neglect is not a solution”. 

“It is an undemocratic shortcut designed to hand power back to those who failed Knysna in the first place.

“Moreover, the timing of such a dissolution would have been disastrous. A Council resolution to dissolve would have triggered elections in December — right in the middle of the holiday season, when thousands of tourists flock to Knysna. Our town would have been turned into a political battlefield of different parties campaigning and discrediting one another. This would not bring stability; it would bring chaos and reputational damage at the very moment Knysna needs to project confidence as a holiday and investment destination.”

Cape Times

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