District Council’s final make-up still uncertain

DISTRICT ELECTION NEWS - The Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) will have 37 councillors in its new term, up from 35, following the population growth in the district.

However, the Council’s final political composition has yet to be determined.

Marais Kruger, the DA’s mayoral candidate for the GRDM, confirmed that the party has secured eight proportional representation (PR) seats following the local government elections, in which it received 50.9% of the district vote.

He said he was still awaiting confirmation from all seven local municipalities regarding their representatives to the District Council.

According to Kruger, the seven local municipalities must first hold their council meetings to determine which councillors will be delegated to the district council. George Municipality’s first council meeting is scheduled for 18 November, while Kruger indicated that meetings in the other municipalities are expected to take place around 24 or 25 November.

Kruger expects the DA caucus to comprise 19 councillors, which would give the party an outright majority on the 37-member council. However, the final number will depend on the councillors delegated by the local municipalities.

The district council includes representatives elected through the district ballot, as well as councillors delegated from George, Mossel Bay, Knysna, Oudtshoorn, Hessequa, Bitou and Kannaland.

Kruger said it was also too early to make decisions about the new mayoral committee. The processes to elect the deputy mayor and speaker are still under way, and he will have to wait for confirmation of the councillors who will serve on the District Council before finalising his plans.

The new council’s composition and leadership arrangements are therefore expected to become clearer once the seven local municipalities have completed their respective processes.