Yesterday, 4 May 2022, efforts by the ANC to remove the Executive Mayor of the Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality, DA councillor Ewald Loock, and Chief Whip of Council, DA Cllr Ricardo Smith, fell flat.
This followed after councillors from the DA, Freedom Front Plus and EFF decided to remove themselves from a council meeting at which a motion of no confidence in Mayor Loock and Cllr Smith was set to be debated. The motion was tabled by the ANC.
The walk-out took place due to the fact that the Speaker of Council, Cllr Cheslin Felix of the Compatriots of South Africa (CSA), failed to arrange for the virtual participation of DA Cllr Danie Bezuidenhout. Cllr Bezuidenhout recently underwent an operation and is confined to his home.
The Speaker’s failure was nothing more than a ploy by the ANC-CSA coalition to manufacture a majority in council in order to remove Mayor Loock and Cllr Smith.
Dr Beyers Naude is currently a hung council with the DA occupying 10 seats. The Freedom Front Plus and EFF each have one. The ANC has 11 seats and the CSA one.
Council was able to host virtual meetings throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and this capability remains in place. There was no reason to not accommodate Cllr Bezuidenhout on a virtual platform as part of the meeting.
The residents of the Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality deserve to have all of their representatives present when important matters impacting the future of the municipality are debated.
Mayor Loock and Cllr Smith remain in their positions and will continue to work to bring accountability, transparency, and improved service delivery to the people of Dr Beyers Naude.