Drakenstein council and Mayco-predictions

One of the first tasks of the newly constituted municipal council would be the appointment of senior office bearers, including the mayoral committee.

Before one add any names to a portfolio the constituting of a new council is also an opportunity to reconfigure portfolios and align it with the plans of the administration. Now that might not happen with the incoming administration, but I will still play around. 

First, I would add recreation to the public safety portfolio, I mean at any event there should be public safety. Secondly to put focus on the economic growth and development of Drakenstein as a city I would create an Economic Opportunities and Tourism portfolio and add Human Settlements and Rural Development together.

Finance: There are rumours that Gert Combrink might not be returning as Deputy Mayor, should that be the case and he miss out on this portfolio two excellent candidates would be Jako Matthee and Aletta van Staden. Both would also be excellent choices for Chief Whip.

Engineering: Rumour has it Koos le Roux will be returning as Speaker, leaving the portfolio vacant. Two potential candidates are Johan Miller and Anre Koegelenberg.

Public Safety & Recreation: Rean Smuts has retired leaving the portfolio vacant. This could go to Aidan Stowman, Reinhardt van Nieuwenhuyssen or first-time councillor Avron Apollis. 

Social Services: Should Stowman get Public Safety and Recreation, Apollis might get Social Services. Another candidate for is Laurishia van Niekerk.

Inter-Governmental Relations and Communication: It is highly unlikely that Van Nieuwenhuyssen would return to this portfolio, leaving the door open to Van Niekerk. Another candidate would be Rita Andreas.

Environment, Parks & Open Spaces: Christephine Kearns looks set to return to te portfolio.

Human Settlements & Rural Development: Lorraine Cyster might be returning to the portfolio and take on rural development as well.

Arts, Culture & Sport: It looks like a definite that Lorenzo Arendse will take on the Arts, Culture & Sport portfolio. 

Corporate Services: Patricia Mokoena will not be returning the council leaving the portfolio vacant for first time councillor and former PA to the Mayor, Elizabeth Baron.

Planning and Development: Should Miller be moving to engineering the likely candidate for this portfolio might be first-time councillor Stephanus Liebenberg.

Economic Opportunities & Tourism: Rita Andreas should be the likely choice for this portfolio should it be created, thanks to her successful first term in the rural development portfolio. Should the new portfolio not be created she will most probably return to her old portfolio. 

Voters made an x for the devil they know

Voters made an x for the devil they know. This is the conclusion one can draw from the recent local government election. 

Despite the ANC and DA still being the two biggest political parties, they did not have a good local government election. 

Both should also be doing some serious introspection.

While at it they may as well look at and compare their message to that of other parties. Their ignorant approach and avoiding the noise that often cause distraction is what cost them votes.

The voter percentage everywhere was down. There are many factors to that, for starters the Independent Electoral Commission was not ready for an election. In their defence they said before the proclamation they not ready, but that is just poor planning. Secondly the election was on a Monday that was a public holiday, and many compatriots took a long weekend. There are other factors as well like the weather and fact that political parties did not offer any real service delivery solutions and speak to the heart of voters.

In Drakenstein with 51,44% the voter percentage was 13,80% less than the 64,72% in 2016. There were 131 182 registered voters of whom 67 483 voted in 2021, compared to the 129 265 registered voters of whom 83 666 voted in 2016.

Despite the DA and ANC retaining all the wards and the ANC winning one from the Progressive Democratic Movement (PDM), the DA lost 7 and ANC 2 seats. The DA went from governing with a comfortable 66% to a 55% support, while the ANC went from 23% to 19%. This is a lot for the two big political parties.

On the ballot paper there were 19 political parties of whom 11 have won seats in the Drakenstein council. There was an expectation that GOOD would perform well, but they disappointed and managed only to perform uhm good [sic]. Nevertheless, they took votes from the DA and in some wards from the ANC. 

Meanwhile the Freedom Front Plus, Concerned Drakenstein Residents, ACDP and Patriotic Alliance did very well. Icosa increased its support, but there was an opportunity for them to do better. Big surprises in the election were the EFF, who lost votes, and the PAC and Al Jama who both increased their support.

Why did the DA and ANC still do better than the smaller parties? Both can run bigger campaigns and, based on a summarised response from a few voters, they voted for the devil they know.

Several wards had a voter percentage of under 50% with wards 5, 8 and 24 at 41%, ward 14 had 40% and ward 16 with 35% the lowest. The highest voter percentage was 71% in ward 2, but still lower than in 2016. The DA’s support in wards dropped from 66,30 to 54,92%.

Compared to 2016 the DA lost the most support in ward 20 (31,82%), ward 24 (30,81%), ward 14 (26,69%), ward 22 (26,18%) and ward 25 (25,78%). The party had a slight increase in ward 6 (4,67%) and ward 28 (0,7%).

The Freedom Front Plus performed well in ward 2 gaining 24% of the vote, where the DA lost 23,68%. GOOD did good in ward 25 (25,92%) and received 17,81% in ward 33 where the DA lost 21%. In ward 11 the DA lost 22,74% where Good received 15,67% and CDR 14,81%. CDR also performed well in ward 14 (16.81%) and got 14,86% in ward 13 where the DA lost 23,4%.

Smaller parties who did well, based on the voter percentages from 2021 vs 2016 and political party representation in council, is a clear sign that voters are not happy with the bigger parties and sending a message to parties that votes can be taken back.

The challenge now is for the duly elected public representatives of the fifth Drakenstein municipal council to be just that: public representatives. It is especially the smaller parties who will need to show they can be an effective opposition, with a bigger task resting on the shoulders of those entering council for the first time to make an impact on their communities.

Some entering council will learn that there is a difference to being an activist and being a public representative and saying things are easier than getting things done, as well as the consequences for some decisions.

GOOD will have to be careful not to make the same mistakes as the Independent Democrats back in the day, while CDR needs to be careful not to walk the same path as that of the Federation of Democrats during the second administration.

Most important for our public representatives is that the newly formed government might have been given a mandate, but that should not be taken for granted. Those not part of the government were also given a mandate to hold local government accountable and ensure they play their part in ensuring service delivery takes place.

An edited version of this opinion piece was originally published in Paarl Post of 11 November 2021.

DA Cape Town no.2 more interesting

The DA announced Geordin Hill-Lewis as it's Mayoral Candidate for the City of Cape Town. An announcement that came as a no surprise.

There are a few important events surrounding the announcement of the mayoral candidate.

The first thing to keep our eyes on is whether the incumbent Dan Plato will complete the current term, or will he move to the national assembly and become a back-bencher or will he move to the provincial legislature.

Should Plato move to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament the second thing to keep our eyes on is if he will become and MEC and who will make space for him in cabinet?

LIFO [Last In, First Out] would probably be the easiest solution, Daylin Mitchell could be dropped as Transport and Public Works MEC and become the answer to the third important thing to keep our eyes on: who will be candidate for Deputy Mayor.

For Hill-Lewis to have governance experience is not that crucial but his lieutenants and especially number two should. It thus looks like an easy, simple move but in politics nothing is easy or simple.

Daylin Mitchell might only be minister for a few months, but he is a former chairperson of the transport and public works, as well as premier and constitutional matters committees. He is also a former deputy chief whip and deputy caucus chairperson.

One can expect the Deputy Mayoral Candidate position to be a bigger competition than the Mayoral one.

Race is a sensitive issue and the DA who believes in non-racialism might give some hope to the current deputy mayor Ian Neilson for another term or Mayco Members JP Smith and James Vos to throw their names in the hat. Neilson, Smith and Vos have the expertise for the position and would give great support to Hill-Lewis as a Mayor. It would however be difficult to convince not only voters and potential voters but also party members that with white Mayor and Deputy Mayor Candidates the DA is not a white party.

From within the DA there would be a push that the number two be a person of colour. Four names come to mind...

Top of the list is Xanthea Limberg, whose name have been previously rumoured as a potential deputy mayor candidate, followed by Zahid Badroodien.

The other two on my list might not have governance experience but they know the communities, are regularly on the ground and to an extend are engaging on the streets. They are Angus McKenzie, the Bonteheuwel-ward councillor, and Reagen Allen, chairperson of the standing committee on community safety and cultural affairs and sport.

Three of the above eight names have previously hinted at aiming for the blue cloak. There could however be wildcard candidates like Patricia van der Ross and Dr. Arlene Adams.

The DA can be very predictable, applying textbook politics, like watching House of Cards and West Wing at once. Thus, when selecting the number two for the City of Cape Town, the DA should be honest and take parties like the EFF, NFP, Good, Icosa, CDR and the Patriotic Alliance serious. 

It should also first decide whether the status quo will do or will they want to stir the pot – like deal with pending disciplinary matters…