The ANC in the Western Cape has welcomed the removal of DA Cape Agulhas municipality
mayor, Paul Swart, at a special vote of no confidence meeting on Wednesday.
Swart’s removal follows a municipal disciplinary report that found him guilty of misconduct and violating the councillor code of conduct earlier this month.
Accused of misconduct
The charges against him included failure to disclose business interests as outlined in
Section 6 of the Code of Conduct for Councillors. Also failure to disclose unauthorised
expenditure.
The Cape Agulhas municipality confirmed the removal of the mayor on Wednesday. It said out of 10 councillors present, six voted in favour of his removal, while four voted against it.
Swart to remain DA Cape Agulhas councillor
“Aderman Swart remains a councillor of Cape Agulhas municipality. The council only has
the power to decide on the election and removal of a mayor. It is important to note that only the MEC for Local Government has the power to remove a councillor,” the municipality
said.
“Councillor Raymond Ross, deputy mayor of Cape Agulhas municipality, will act as
executive mayor. This will be the case until a new executive mayor is elected at a Special Council Meeting. The meeting is scheduled for Friday, June 7 2024. The public are assured that the outcome of today’s motion will in no way affect service delivery.”
ANC provincial spokesperson Khalid Sayed said the party welcomes the removal of the
mayor.
“We believe service delivery will now be enhanced, particularly in communities that are
most in need. But this is yet another indication that the DA is the bully within the moonshot
pact. This as the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) voted with the ANC in this matter.
It shows that the moonshot pact has completely crumbled and the DA will not have any
partners as it moves forward,” he said.
DA to challenge removal of mayor
Swart said he was disappointed by the outcome.
“They wanted me out of the office of the mayor and now I am out. This is a witch-hunt, I believe, and I am disappointed. I am still positive though that the DA is going to take this on,” he said.
DA Provincial Leader, Tertuis Simmers said they will address the decision through the
appropriate channels.
“At a council meeting early today, the FF+ and the ANC voted to remove DA mayor, Paul Swart. [This was] in contradiction with the agreement with the FF+. It’s not the first time that the FF+ has worked with the ANC in the Western Cape to undermine DA governments. And it is a growing trend amongst FF+ reps that destabilises working governments.
The DA condemns these actions by the FF+ and we will take it up through the appropriate
channels to address it. Fortunately, voters have seen this growing trend, and it reflected in the outcomes in the election that took place yesterday,” Simmers said.
