DA Drakenstein's challenge

Now that the #2016MunicipalElection is all done, the hard work starts.

One of the first tasks of newly constituted councils is electing the top officials – Executive Mayor, Deputy Executive Mayor, Speaker and who will act if the number one and two is unable to.

While we knew before we made our X who the Mayoral Candidates were, we could only speculate on the other positions. Many looked at the PR [Proportional Representation] list and viewed that as an indication. It is however not a prescribed guideline of how the executive should be chosen and that duty rest upon the majority caucus, guided by the local and provincial party political leadership.

This is widely a follow-up to Drakenstein’s surprises and disappointments. This piece is zooming in on the governing party in Drakenstein.

Despite the DA having a male Mayor-elect, majority of their caucus will be females. What makes it more interesting is that that more than half of the 26 wards the party won, was won by females: an indication that even the voter think the party has competent female leaders. The party also increased its support in the predominantly coloured areas. The above are all things the party cannot ignore.

Our eyes should be on how the new caucus approach gender equality. Only five of the former Executive Mayoral Committee members are returning to council. And only one of them is female. Thus safe to assume Wendy Philander will again be part of Mayco. Comparing to her colleagues she did exceptionally well in her first term in council and not only topped the DA Drakenstein PR list [considering the DA said they reserve the number one position for their Mayoral Candidates], but she also twice appeared on the DA’s Provincial List for the Western Cape Legislature, currently on number two.

One can thus assume she is DA’s most senior female leader in Drakenstein. It would thus be interesting to see if the party reckons she performed well and should she not be in the top 3 to explain why she was not considered. Having said this we can also safely assume the party would re-elect DA-stalwart Koos le Roux as Speaker. In his first term he oversee a council without any incidents and council meetings were calm and peaceful, with respect.

That is not the party’s only challenge, composition of the new Executive Mayoral Committee might also be a headache for Mayor-elect, Conrad Poole. 

Of the 26 councillors 19 are returning with 6 having experience of Mayco – one of them in a District council. As mentioned in Drakenstein Surprises it is a given that Linda Landu who defected from the ANC to the DA would be rewarded with a Mayco seat. 

Would be interesting to see what portfolio she is given. Before I get to my Mayco speculations – or ideal Mayco – I would first restructure the portfolio’s and align it to the needs of the community but also based on services the municipality should be providing.

I would structure the ten portfolios as:

Community Services	Housing & Rural Development
Utility Services	Social Development
Safety and Security	Economic Opportunities
Planning & Environmental Affairs	Corporate Services
Inter-Governmental Relations & Communications	Finances

Furthermore I would propose that committees be structured as:

+ Finance

+ Planning & Economic Development [Planning & Environmental Affairs, Economic Opportunities, Housing & Rural Development]

+ Corporate Affairs [Corporate Services, IGR & ICT]

+ Infrastructure Development [Utility Services]

+ Community Development [Community Services, Safety & Security, Social Development]

Because I don’t view Housing, Economic Opportunities and tourism as a service that is just delivered but one that needs constant planning and development I structure it under the Planning and Economic Development Portfolio Committee.

My Executive speculation:

Portfolio	Speculation	Alternative
Community Service	Aidan Stowman	Eva Gouws
Utility Services	Reinhardt van Nieuwenhuyzen	N/a
Safety & Security	Rean Smuts	N/a
Planning & Environmental Affairs	Jako Matthee	Wilhelmina Smit
Housing & Rural Development	Wendy Philander	Rita Andreas
Social Development	Eva Gouws	Aidan Stowman
Economic Opportunities	Wilhelmina Smit	Jako Matthee
Corporate Services	Jo-Ann De Wet	N/a
Finance	Gert Combrink	N/a
IGR & Communication	Linda Landu	Wendy Philander

Speaker	Koos le Roux	Wendy Philander
Deputy Mayor	Wendy Philander	Koos le Roux
Chief Whip	Ben de Goede	Renier Koegelenberg