Cape Town - The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has dumped the DA as their coalition partner in the Western Cape.
The PA said this was not a retaliation to the comments made by DA interim leader in the province Tertuis Simmers about the election of PA president Gayton McKenzie as the mayor of the Central Karoo District Municipality.
Simmers was quoted in the media calling the election of McKenzie a political thuggery, prompting the PA’s deputy president Kenny Kunene to launch a scathing attack on Simmers, calling him a political non-entity and threatened to pull out in the two municipalities that are coalition partners with the DA.
“We have decided that let us withdraw each and every coalition agreement within the Western Cape,” explained PA national chairperson Marlon Daniels.
“For years, we have been receiving complaints from our councillors who tell us about how badly they are treated by the DA councillors. We have kept quiet but now we can no longer do that. This is not a retaliation to what Simmers said, we are not a reactionary party but proactive.”
Daniels also said the Western Cape is the only province that was never liberated.
“It is still in hands of the engineers of apartheid. It is like a terrible woman with a new dress on, that person has not renewed their minds and their heart. This is what the DA is about.”
He also added that the only “thugs” in the province were the DA after they got two new positions in the Prince Albert municipality. “They used a vote on a councillor who was fired. The DA called for a quick seating and awarded themselves positions.”
The withdrawal was made official on Thursday with letters sent to speakers of the two municipalities where the PA was in coalition with the DA – Knysna and Matzikama. Although the PA did not say what the next step is, the Weekend Argus has learnt that there are talks with the ANC and other smaller parties.
ANC spokesperson in the province Sifiso Mtsweni said they were aware of the developments in the two municipalities.
“We are still involved in the negotiations. Once we have finalised everything, we will make an announcement.”
Simmers said he was saddened by the PA's decision to pull out of the two coalitions they had with the DA in the Western Cape.
“Because I think that service delivery is better when councillors work together.”
“Media reports were misleading, to say the least. More so than others, politicians should equip themselves not to be fooled by hearsay and by reference to sound bites without context; not to be fooled by misrepresentation.”
He said in a short face-to-face discussion during the cabinet speed-dating sessions with all Western Cape mayors, he assured McKenzie of his support in raising service delivery standards in the Central Karoo.
“I stand by my commitment to stable good governance by accountability, and by compliance with legislation and regulations to improve lives continuously and sustainably, irrespective of political flags. I remain willing and keen to take hands with Gayton in this quest. Still, I emphasise that all coalition agreements are the mandate of the DA’s federal structure.”
Matzikama municipality has 15 seats and the DA has six, ANC four, and PA two. Good Party, EFF and Freedom Front Plus have one seat each. Both the ANC and the DA need the support of the parties with one seat to govern.
Knysna, on the other hand, has 21 seats with the DA leading with eight followed by the ANC with seven. PA and the Knysna Independent Movement both have two seats. The EFF and Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners have one seat each.
Weekend Argus