New government for key Western Cape municipality

The Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape has announced a new multi-party coalition between the DA, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and the Freedom Front Plus (FF+).

The DA has demoted Mayor Jaqui Von Brandis and replaced her with former Deputy Mayor Browen Johnson. Von Brandis will now serve as Chief Whip of Council. 

According to the DA Western Cape leader, Tertius Simmers, Von Brandis offered to step down to ensure the stability of the government in George. 

The DA is the leading party in the municipality, holding 26 seats of 55, but falls short of the requisite 27 seats to govern alone. 

The DA was previously in coalition with the ACDP alone, which gave it the majority of seats. However, following the exit of two DA councillors, Marchell Kleynhans and Brendon Adams, the coalition lost its majority. 

The two councillors left the party for the Patriotic Alliance. 

Kleynhans said he left because a “coloured caucus” of the DA had a plot to oust Von Brandis and replace her with Kleynhans.

Simmers told News24, however, that “the DA has no such thing as a coloured caucus or any form of racial division within its structures.”

The exit left the coalition with 27 seats, falling short of a majority. With four new FF+ councillors on its side, the coalition is once again stable. 

The coalition agreement between the parties will stand regardless of the results of the 2026 by-elections, as the agreement is for the remainder of the 2021-2026 term. 

New Mayor, new Deputy Mayor

Gert van Niekerk from the FF+ will now take on the role of Deputy Mayor. The FF+ said that after thorough consideration, it determined that entering the coalition would be the best action for the people of George. 

It added that it shares common values and principles with the DA and ACDP, those of transparent governance and equitable service delivery.

“I can promise you, standing here, myself and my party are committed to serve the best interest of George and the people in George,” said van Niekerk. 

“We’ve seen a lot of things happening lately in George,” he said, referring to the recent exits and subsequent controversy, “but a municipality is not run on Facebook.”

According to the party, George is currently “facing significant governance and service delivery challenges”, and the party “could not remain indifferent in the face of these issues.”

Johnson, the new mayor, is expected to reshuffle leadership positions, as the new appointments and movements have left two vacancies in the leadership.

Additionally, the DA will allocate two more positions to the FF+, MAYCO Planning and MPAC Chair.

The ACDP will hold the position of MAYCO Corporate Services. This will all be decided at the first coalition council meeting on Friday, 21 November. 

Johnson was previously a radiographer before entering the political arena in 2021. He was born in Swellendam but moved to George in 2011 with his family, according to the George Herald.