Council turns new leaf with mayco shuffle
Anew Speaker, deputy mayor and chief whip were elected at a Special Council Meeting on Monday 12 February. It was George Council's fourth attempt to appoint new candidates for these top positions.
The new Speaker is Gerrit Pretorius, Charlotte Clarke is the new deputy mayor and Marlene Barnardt was elected as chief whip.
The opposition nominated Nomawethu Jantjies for the position of Speaker, Virgill Gericke for deputy mayor and Helen Loff for chief whip. The voting results were as follows: Pretorius 30; Jantjies 19; Clarke
27; Gericke 21; Barnardt 29; Loff 19. Like before, representatives of the Independent Electoral Commission conducted the election. A song and dance by ANC councillors entertained guests, officials and politicians during the proceedings.
Speaker on crutches
The atmosphere in Council was positive and joyous. The former deputy mayor,
Gerrit Pretorius, even managed to smile through the pain of a full knee replacement procedure he underwent a mere week before. Pretorius walked on crutches and was in visible discomfort as the morning progressed. He was excused shortly after his introductory speech and Vincentius Muller acted as Speaker for the rest of the meeting.
Pretorius thanked all the councillors who voted for him. "The constitution of South Africa is for all the people and our council is for all the people in George," he said. "I hope that, under the leadership of the mayor, and with the contribution of all the parties, this council will make George and its citizens proud again. Thank you for your trust in me."
Opposition parties congratulated Pretorius on his new position as Speaker. EFF Councillor Laetitia Arries said she trusts that Pretorius will remain Speaker for the rest of the term and that Council wouldn't have to go through this process again.
'Colour does matter'
A debate on the election of the three main positions sparked a discussion about racial equity in Council. Langa Langa of the ANC said Council is moving backwards by removing a black councillor, Mxolisi Nyakati (former chief whip) from such a key position. "Black people in the DA are only good when the DA needs the votes," said Langa. Virgill Gericke of the PBI said, "Colour does matter. There must be a fair representation in Council."
In his reply, DA councillor Rassie de Villiers said Council is still representative of the whole of George.
"To me this is a sad day, all this talk about racism. We are here to make sure that we render services to the people of George. This is how we look. That is fine, because we are still representative. I cannot see that we must hammer on racism for the rest of our lives. We are all Georgians and we are all South Africans."
New mayco
Four former ordinary councillors have been promoted and were welcomed onto the George mayoral committee (mayco).
These councillors replace Belrina Cornelius, Mercia Draghoender, Johan Stander and Gert Niehaus. Cornelius, Draghoender and Stander will stay on Council, but without portfolios. Gert Niehaus recently resigned as a George councillor. The new mayco members are Charlotte Clarke, Sean Snyman, Raybin Figland and Jacqulique von Brandis.