DA to vote out ‘betrayer’ Knysna mayor

The fourth motion of no confidence (MONC) against Knysna mayor Mark Willemse is set to be tabled today and the provincial leadership of the Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape fully support the motion.

In a statement released on Thursday, the party explained how Willemse and councillor Peter Myers made a decision to go against their caucus and against a request by the leadership and voted with the ANC in a MONC to remove the DA mayor.

“In the process, Willemse accepted and got elected as mayor by a majority of ANC councillors. He has since been kept in his position by the ANC and we expect the ANC to support him in this motion today. He is effectively an ANC mayor,” said the DA.

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“It is the duty of councillors to ensure that the mandate afforded to the party by the voters is implemented and executed, which is why they have decided to take action on behalf of the residents of Knysna in the interest of service delivery,” they added.

The party believes Myers and Willemse’s actions hinder the ability of the council to deliver to the people Knysna.

“We want to make it clear that voters elected the DA, not an individual, to govern the town of Knysna because of our track record on good governance and service delivery,” stated the party.

“A person cannot execute the duties of a mayor if he/she does not have the support of their party, councillors, and officials. It is for this reason that we support this MONC so once again the people of Knysna can trust their municipality to deliver on their mandate,” concluded the DA.

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