The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has blocked the Western Cape Provincial Government’s attempt to dissolve the Knysna Municipal Council and place it under administration, a move Western Cape Local Government Minister Anton Bredell says could have prevented the “complete breakdown of service delivery” in the town.
“The National Council of Provinces, through its members, made the political decision to prevent the Western Cape Provincial Government from saving Knysna from the foreseeable complete breakdown of service delivery,” Bredell said on Thursday.
“It is unfortunate that this decision was clearly made for political reasons as opposed to having been made based on all the evidence of the Municipality’s dysfunction.”
The NCOP Select Committee ruled that the municipality had not failed to carry out its constitutional duties, citing evidence from councillors, unions, external stakeholders, and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA).
But Bredell warned that leaving the council in charge risked worsening service delivery failures already affecting the town.
“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.
According to Bredell, dissolving the council and appointing an impartial administrator would have enabled “the swift implementation of recovery strategies unhindered by entrenched political interests, mismanagement, political interference and lack of oversight by the Council that has perpetuated the Municipality’s decline.”
He added that the veto meant the provincial government could not access the additional funding and resources that would have accompanied a Section 139 intervention.
“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 stabilise immediate operations and lay the groundwork for long-term governance improvements,” Bredell said.
The minister suggested residents were unlikely to agree with the NCOP’s ruling.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
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