Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
In the light of the recent decision by the NCOP to reject the application to place the Knysna Municipality under administration and to dissolve the Council;
- What specific steps does he now intend to take to address the governance challenges in the Knysna Municipality;
- whether he will pursue alternative interventions under section 139(c) or other mechanisms; if not, why not; if so, (a) what are they, (b) what is the timeline for implementation and (c) how does he plan to mitigate any negative consequences for residents while pursuing these alternative governance interventions;
- whether he will engage further with the (a) NCOP or (b) other national oversight structures to secure approval for any future interventions in the Knysna Municipality; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
- whether there will be monitoring mechanisms implemented to track administrative performance during this period; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
In light of the decision by the National Council of Provinces and the National Minister of COGTA, residents experiencing the repeated governance and service delivery failures in the Municipality will have to report their complaints directly to the Executive Mayor. The Provincial Government will continue to monitor and support the Knysna Municipality. Residents can submit complaints to the Provincial Government of further instances of the Municipality failing to perform its executive obligations and support will be provided to the Municipality but the primary responsibility for addressing complaints remains with the Municipality.
(2)(a)(b) In light of the decision by the National Council of Provinces and the findings of the Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Public Administration which found that
“in terms of the evidence provided by the majority of Chief Whips of Political Parties, the Unions, external stakeholders and SALGA, it has become apparent that Knysna Local Municipality did not fail to perform its constitutional duties”
it is clear that alternative interventions under section 139(1)(c) or other mechanisms will be similarly blocked by the NCOP.
(c) The decision of the NCOP has effectively put the Municipal Council back in charge of its own recovery and implementing support measures offered by the National and Provincial Government. Residents experiencing the repeated governance and service delivery failures in the Municipality will have to report their complaints directly to the Executive Mayor. The Provincial Government will continue to monitor and support the Knysna Municipality in compliance with the Section 154 Support Plan, but the primary responsibility for addressing complaints remains with the Municipality
7(3)(a) The decision of the NCOP, through its members, was clearly made for political reasons as opposed to having been made based on all the evidence of the Municipality’s dysfunction. No intervention by the Provincial Government will be successful when the political parties making up the Knysna governing coalition, through the NCOP, effectively have a veto right. I therefore do not intend to engage further with members of the NCOP.
(b) I have addressed correspondence to the national Minister of COGTA noting that there is no consistent standard for when S139(1) of the Constitution interventions are disapproved by the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the National Council of Provinces. This accordingly opens the process to allegations of being influenced by politics. In light of the above, I have requested that the national Department of Cooperative Governance, in line with its roles and responsibilities, to:
- Develop objective criteria for executive obligation failures requiring interventions, including executive obligations associated with:
i. Council Oversight;
ii. Municipal Governance;
iii. Administrative Functionality; and
iv. Basic Service Delivery;
- Develop minimum basic service delivery standards, the failure of which to adhere to constitutes an executive obligation failure requiring an intervention;
7(4) The Provincial Government will continue to monitor and support the Knysna Municipality, however, the Municipal Council is in charge of its own recovery and implementing support measures offered by the National and Provincial Government.
I note further that the Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Public Administration intends, during the 2026 Parliamentary Second Term, conducting a proactive oversight visit to Knysna Municipality to “assess the state of local municipality in terms of good governance, service delivery, revenue and financial management, local economic development, public participation and cross cutting matters related to water, sanitation human settlement and support provided in terms of section 154 of the Constitution.”
