Amid claims of backstabbing from the African National Congress, a Democratic Alliance candidate was on Tuesday elected as the new executive mayor of Knysna.
Doris Brown takes the place of the ANC’s Joy Cole, who unexpectedly quit last week.
Cole was originally a DA councillor, became an independent, then joined the ANC. She lost her seat to a DA opponent in the March 2006 local government polls.
Though the DA won only five of the 16 seats on the council (the ANC holds seven) it will govern with the support of smaller parties.
Alan Winde, the DA member of the provincial legislature responsible for the Knysna area, said in a statement that the change in governance had come about as a result of the ”severe instability within the ANC at both the local and provincial levels”.
”The DA has therefore decided that it is time to make the change and show the difference between a DA-run town and an ANC-run town. Just as Helen Zille has done in Cape Town with her DA-led coalition, Doris Brown will demonstrate the difference with her multiparty-coalition in Knysna.”
ANC provincial secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha said however the DA took control of Knysna ”after lying to the ANC that it would vote for an ANC mayor”.
He said the DA and the ANC provincial leadership had met on numerous occasions after the March elections and agreed to work together in specific municipalities, among them Knysna.
”These were decisions taken in good faith, believing that the leaderships of both parties had integrity,” he said. ‒ Sapa