Knysna Coalition Talks: ANC Says Manifesto Alignment Will Decide Its Partners

KNYSNA, Western Cape — The ANC will measure every potential partner against its own manifesto before agreeing to a coalition in Knysna, where the Democratic Alliance’s return of nine seats in the 21-seat council has left no party with an outright majority and opened the door to fresh negotiations. ANC regional coordinator in the Southern Cape, Moyisi Magalela, said the party’s approach is aimed at avoiding a governing arrangement fractured by conflicting policy positions from the outset.

The municipality enters those talks burdened by persistent governance problems, service delivery failures and corruption allegations — and with a two-week window to settle an agreement.

Two decades of hung councils

Knysna’s coalition era is not new. According to the account presented in the broadcast discussion, the instability traces back to 2006, when the DA failed to secure an outright majority and was forced into a coalition with the ANC. Two decades later, the municipality remains associated with administrative dysfunction, corruption and decay.

Magalela said residents have little choice but to accept the political reality.

“The issues of coalition are a new norm,” he said, arguing that residents of Knysna must live with it.

‘Coalition management’ is the deciding factor

For Magalela, the difference between a functional administration and a collapsing one lies in structure rather than arithmetic. Different parties campaign on different manifestos and answer to different constituencies, he noted, and without deliberate management the arrangement becomes difficult to govern.

He pointed to a conflict resolution committee as a necessary mechanism inside any coalition agreement, and said the party hoped negotiations would produce a better arrangement for residents.

Magalela also offered the ANC’s recent record in Knysna as evidence of capability. In 2021, he said, the DA began a coalition with the Patriotic Alliance and the EFF that could not last a year. The ANC then took over with other parties and completed the term through to 2026 — an outcome he framed as proof of the party’s skill in managing coalitions, while conceding there were difficulties and significant service delivery challenges along the way.

Councillors set policy, officials fix potholes

Part of the ANC coordinator’s argument centred on what residents can reasonably expect from elected representatives. Councillors, he said, are responsible for policy, while the actual work is carried out by municipal officials.

A pothole, he pointed out, is not fixed by a councillor but by a municipal official — although a councillor can escalate those problems to the administration.

Small parties, big egos

The arithmetic of the new council puts single-seat parties in a position of influence, many of them breakaways from the ANC, the DA and the emerging Patriotic Alliance. Asked whether that fragmentation guarantees further chaos, Magalela acknowledged the friction candidly, describing the ego that creeps in, the “you need me more than I need you” posture, and the kingmaker mentality.

But he said such parties cannot be wished away. They campaigned, they won seats, and they carry voters who expect to be served.

He also rejected the “small parties” label, saying he disliked the term because those parties hold fair representation in council and deserve respect — as do the constituencies that voted for them.

His stated wish for this round is straightforward: mature councillors and mature leaders who put people first.

“We are no longer negotiating for ourselves,” Magalela said, adding that talks are being framed around communities instead. That means examining manifestos and identifying which parties fit into the ANC’s programme, so that competing loyalties do not pull the administration in different directions.

Residents, meanwhile, remain focused on a single demand running through the national conversation about why voters chose as they did: services.