Following the motion of no confidence, the DA’s Johan van der Colff was elected mayor, which elicited congratulations from DA provincial leader Harold McGluwa.

“I have full confidence in Johan, who has years of experience in local government, to ensure stability within the institution and to enforce the service delivery for all residents in the municipality,” he said.

The PA’s mayor, Anthony Mietas, and Speaker Maria Chadow were sworn in following the October provincial election. After the votes were counted, the ANC had five councillors, the DA three, the PA two and the FF+ one. The ANC formed a coalition with the PA, giving it control of the municipality’s main two seats.

Karoo Hoogland is an administrative area in the Namakwa District of the Northern Cape. Taking control of this municipality after coalition negotiations was hailed by PA president Gayton McKenzie as the largest power-sharing agreement in the party’s history. 

McKenzie told PA supporters on Facebook that the power-sharing agreement with the ANC allowed the PA to run the municipality. 

However, on Thursday, McKenzie claimed: “The DA, with the help of the ANC, replaced our mayor and Speaker in Karoo Hoogland. We are not crying, we are not cursing, we are not complaining because each and every party has a right to decide with whom they will vote or assist.”

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ANC regional chairperson Mervin Cloete, however, told Daily Maverick that this was not the case during the motion of no confidence. Cracks in the ANC/PA coalition appeared a few weeks ago, he said, when McKenzie stated on Facebook that the PA would not vote with the DA and the ANC in any municipality and that the coalition in the Northern Cape was over.

“Before McKenzie held his Facebook community meetings, a motion of no confidence in the PA’s mayor and Speaker was introduced in the Karoo Hoogland Municipality.

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“Our councillors were ready to defend the motion until McKenzie’s statement. There is no relationship between the DA and the ANC in Namakwa and the Northern Cape. So, on the day of the no-confidence vote, our five councillors abstained from voting,” Cloete explained. 

“The ANC never broke the coalition and never had a tumultuous relationship with the PA after voting the PA into power following the last provincial election.

“We will meet with the provincial leadership and executive committee of the ANC. The mandate will be communicated to councillors. At the moment, there is no marriage or relationship with the DA,” he stated.

Before the 2021 provincial election, the Karoo Hoogland Municipality was an ANC stronghold. DM