Oudtshoorn instability offers vital lessons
Oudtshoorn and Nelson Mandela Bay are more than 300km apart. The former is a small town surrounded by rocky mountains, while the latter is a mid-size city enveloped by the Indian Ocean.
The N9 road that leads to Oudtshoorn is emblematic of the quintessential Klein Karoo scenery: untouched, unspoilt and dry. The heat here can be unforgiving at the height of summer and the winters are biting cold.
This is the land of ostriches and associated paraphernalia, mountains and caves, with the most famous being the Cango Caves, a major tourist drawcard.
There is an undeniable element of exotica attached to Oudtshoorn, owing to its quirky natural setting. But there is also a forgotten dark side to this place of many wonders: for almost three years, this small Klein Karoo town of no more than 100,000 residents was held to ransom by events at its city hall, which was governed by a shaky and unstable coalition government.
That coalition arrangement came about in 2013, when a byelection resulted in an ANC, National People’s Party and Independent Civic Organisation of SA coalition being unseated by a DA and Congress of the People bloc in the 25-seat council. The DA-led council of that time had a one-seat advantage, which was not enough to steady the ship.
The chaos that ensued was the stuff of political folklore and the gravity of the situation was highlighted by the municipality’s repeated failure to pass its 201516 budget. The council meeting that collapsed in July 2015 was the third botched attempt at passing Oudtshoorn’s budget.
At the time, the situation became so dire that Western Cape local government MEC Anton Bredell and co-operative governance minister Pravin Gordhan devised a special support and governance package for Oudtshoorn in consultation with the town’s municipal officials, but still derived no joy.
During this period, the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs’s strategy when it came to municipalities was underpinned by a “back-tobasics” ethos. However, not a single tenet of that doctrine was adhered to in Oudtshoorn.
Instead, the council continued to implode, with its administrative demise characterised by wild swings in the coalition formations and a constant shift in the balance of power. One moment the ANCled formation held sway, and the next, without warning, the DA’s bloc rose. The political brinksmanship saw Oudtshoorn’s administration descend into an abysmal state, best described in a statement from Gordhan when he was in charge of co-operative governance: the small town was underscored by political and administrative instability, nonfunctional council structures, irregular acting appointments in senior administrative positions and water pollution, as well as a general breakdown in the delivery of services.
Even as the spectre of being placed under administration loomed over the Oudtshoorn council, the political spectacle played out unabated, with motions of no confidence and counter-motions being filed by both sides. The end result? Bredell and Gordhan combined forces, putting their political differences aside, and placed Oudtshoorn under administration, bringing relief to its residents.
Oudtshoorn stands as a political object lesson of the worst-case scenario for Nelson Mandela Bay should the infighting, which is taking place along coalition lines, not cease any time soon.
The dust has settled in Oudtshoorn, while the clouds of political instability gathering over Nelson Mandela Bay cast a shadow over the DA’s hope of capturing more votes in the Eastern Cape. All parties would do well do heed the lessons from Oudtshoorn’s implosion.