Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning

1(a)  Council unanimously resolved to adopt the Knysna Municipal Diagnostic Assessment findings report and Version 2 of the Section 154 Support Plan on
1 March 2024.

• A Steercom was set up under the leadership of the Municipal Manager and the National Department of Cooperative Governance to implement and monitor progress made on the implementation thereof through various working groups led by the municipal Executive Directors.
• There was limited evidence provided to stakeholders on progress made in specific service delivery areas.

During this period, my Department of Local Government provided the following support to the Municipality:

• Organisational structure

• Numerous workshops, including national and the district to enable the finalisation of such
• An organisational design toolkit was made available to assist with the finalisation of the structure

• Water and Wastewater
  • • Water trucks were arranged from other western cape municipalities during emergencies
    • An official was deployed to assist the Technical Unit
    • Officials have been sent to assist the Municipality when required and available
    • Grant funding was transferred to address priority challenges –
      R11.635 million for water (and an unspent R600,000 for energy)
    • MIG – as at June 2025 - R7.7 million underspend of which only R4 million may be rolled over. The underspend has contributed to the instability of council, high vacancy rate and multiple delays with SCM. Additionally, poor contractor performance. The national and provincial MIG colleagues had monthly meetings to advise on addressing delays
  • Training
    • Senior Manager Appointments: Legislation and Regulations
  • Waste
    • Numerous engagements with the Waste Officer and support to have waste at the transfer station removed
  • MIG
    • Frequent meetings to ensure project spend and enable the resolution of challenges

Province indicated to the Municipality that it intends instituting a Section 139 (1) intervention to ensure progress is made with the view to address specific service delivery failures.

Council on 6 June 2024 notes the letter received from the Western Cape Provincial Government Minister responsible for Local Government dated 30 May 2024 and adopts the Consolidated Executive Obligations’ Monitoring and Enforcement Framework and Action Plan (“CEOMEF Plan”) with changes made by the Top Management Team and Chief Financial Officer, in terms of financial obligations within Knysna Municipality’s fiscal capacity. Council confirms its commitment to the Minister and that Council will regularly communicate progress reports on the implementation of the CEOMEF Plan, through the relevant Steering Committees, to the Office of the MEC and that the administration report to each Section 80 Committee of Community Services and to Council on the progress of the matter.

Despite Council adoption of the above plans and various engagements between my Department’s and the Municipality, inadequate and deficient oversight was communicated on the progress with the implementation of these plans. This was further evident from consistent complaints received from residents verified by site inspections that service delivery had further deteriorated.

The Municipality’s failures are associated with and caused by:

• • systemic governance issues;
  • the Municipality neglecting its duty to effectively plan, implement, and monitor service delivery in alignment with legal, regulatory, and community expectations;
  • Council’s failure of a prioritised response;
  • prolonged infrastructure neglect;
  • budget allocation decisions;
  • accountability failures in the Municipality's management of wastewater/sewerage, water provision, and solid waste management;
  • municipal officials not being transparent in disclosing the extent of these problems; and
  • the inadequate and deficient oversight over the implementation of the section 154 Support Plan and Consolidated Executive Obligations’ Monitoring and Enforcement Framework (“ EF”) Plan by the Municipal Council.
  • Moreover, the municipal administration’s admissions that the Council has and continues to interfere in the administration. In light of all these governance and service delivery failures, the swift implementation of recovery strategies unhindered by entrenched political interests, interference in the administration, mismanagement, and lack of oversight is required.

In light of the above, anything short of dissolution was therefore viewed as a patch before greater harm is caused and the less likely the Municipality will be able to return to a stable operating position.

(b)    The specific factors that justified dissolution rather than alternate interventions are because alternate softer interventions had been implemented since March 2024 with limited progress evidenced and no accountability taken by the Council to ensure such.   

(c)    The other forms of intervention are stipulated in reply (1)(a)

(d)     The reason for those alternatives deemed to be inadequate is explained in response   1(a) and (b).

2-4   Currently, no other municipalities are being considered for intervention in terms of

         s139(1)(c) of the Constitution.

5.      A suggested improvement to the current provincial support model is the addition of proactive monitoring. Western Cape Province intends to address proactive monitoring as per the Western Cape Monitoring and Support of Municipalities Amendment Bill of 2023 so as to prevent the need for formal interventions by provincial government in terms of s139 of the Constitution.

6(a-b) The appointment of an Administrator under section 139(1)(c) of the Constitution represents a decisive intervention mechanism designed to address exceptional circumstances where a municipality has failed to fulfil its executive obligations, thereby enabling a comprehensive turnaround and trajectory correction. By dissolving the Municipal Council and vesting temporary authority in an impartial Administrator, this provision facilitates the swift implementation of recovery strategies unhindered by entrenched political interests, mismanagement, political interference or lack of oversight that has perpetuated the decline in the Municipality. The Administrator can enforce essential national standards for service delivery, impose recovery plans, assume responsibility for critical obligations such as budget approval and revenue-raising measures, and prevent actions prejudicial to the Municipality’s recovery. This external oversight will not only stabilize immediate operations but will lay the groundwork for long-term governance improvements, culminating in fresh elections for a new Municipal Council better positioned to sustain accountable and effective local administration.

7(a-b) Province has learnt, since the inception of and institutionalisation of the Back-to-Basics principles in its support initiatives across the municipalities in the Province, that any form of support is only successful when adequate Council oversight is instituted over the Administration. Council ensures that from inception of a diagnostic assessment findings that it is accurately addressed in a Section 154 Support Plan, adopted by all officials and that progress is monitored by reporting it to Council. Provincial Government have always provided support and coordinated participation by any other national and / or provincial stakeholder (as per the requirements of a Plan).  Support to a Municipality must be embraced and accepted by the Municipal Council. Mindful of this, coalition politics invariably influences the commitment of a council to improve the service delivery and governance challenges.