A special council meeting in Knysna descended into chaos on Friday, leading to the Democratic Alliance (DA) caucus walking out in protest. The meeting, called at short notice, left council members scrambling with minimal preparation time.

The agenda, which included key items such as correspondence from Local Government MEC Anton Bredell and the appointment of a new municipal manager, was only distributed at 15:49 on Thursday and lacked necessary attachments.

Among the contentious issues was the municipality's plan to advertise positions for directors of integrated human settlements and infrastructure services. Knysna Independent Movement (KIM) councillor Susan Campbell voiced strong objections, highlighting procedural oversights. "We have not even reviewed our organisational review in terms of the staff regulations. In fact, I don't know what has been going on in this council since 2022 because it was supposed to be already done back then," Campbell said during the meeting.

DA councillors expressed frustration, arguing that proceeding without a municipal manager would squander taxpayers' money. Deputy Mayor Alberto Marbi countered, accusing the DA and KIM of obstructing progress. "The DA and KIM had a director when they were in charge. Now, when we are in charge, they come with excuses. These parties were part of the selection process and they wanted to be part of it," he said.

The situation escalated into a shouting match, culminating in DA councillor Sharon Sabbagh requesting the party's departure from the session. Despite this, council speaker Mncedisi Skosana insisted the meeting continue.

The DA responded by threatening to table a motion of no confidence against the speaker. DA caucus chairperson for Knysna, Jason White, criticized the handling of the meeting. "During the meeting, the DA caucus requested crucial supplementary details to deliberate and provide recommendations to council properly. Regrettably, the speaker denied this request, preventing the caucus from fulfilling its duty effectively. Consequently, the DA sought permission from the speaker to leave the meeting," White explained.

White further condemned the coalition between the ANC, EFF, Patriotic Alliance (PA), and Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners, describing it as the "coalition of corruption" and accusing it of frequently calling meetings under inadequate and unfair conditions. He hinted at a potential motion of no confidence against Councillor Skosana, noting that such a motion might gain support within the coalition itself.

Knysna Municipality is currently governed by this fragile coalition, following the collapse of a previous DA-led coalition with the PA, which withdrew from the agreement last year.

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