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GEORGE NEWS AND VIDEO - It took George Council the whole of yesterday morning and much haggling to appoint DA Councillor Vincentius Muller as Acting Speaker to chair the first meeting of the year.
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This was necessary since Speaker Iona Kritzinger resigned last year in December, leaving a void, as Council may only be chaired by an elected councillor.
The problem slipped in when the Municipal Manager Trevor Botha requested that the acting speaker be elected on an item dealing with the long-awaited election of the Speaker, chief whip of Council and four mayco members.
Botha wanted to bring this item forward to serve as the first item on the agenda, so that the meeting could proceed.
Opposition parties argued that if an acting speaker is elected on this item, the person might refuse to vacate the position and cause problems for Council at a later stage.
The opposition had a field day questioning the legal adviser, Johan van Schalkwyk, and Botha on this matter.
After much debate, PBI Councillor Virgill Gericke requested that all the whips of Council engage in a 20-minute discussion with Naik.
"We will iron out some of these issues and then the executive mayor (Naik) will give you (Municipal Manager Trevor Botha) instructions."
When the whips and the mayor returned, an instruction was given and a hastily prepared document was handed out, stating that an acting speaker will be elected.
Two names were nominated: ACDP Councillor Johan du Toit, nominated by the combined opposition, and DA Councillor Vincentius Muller, nominated by his party.
Muller received the majority vote in the election.
This rigmarole served to underline the division within the DA.
It is clearly taking its toll. This is the third time the election of the Speaker, chief whip of Council and four mayco members have been put on hold.
Watch a video below.
After an hour lunch break, DA Councillor Vincentius Muller was announced as the acting speaker, until the election of a new speaker of Council.
Gericke made the comment that the DA's Federal Executive Committee is holding Council to ransom.
The DA's candidates need a stamp of approval from their leaders before they can be made available for election.
There is reason to believe that the George leaders' ideas are not quite on par with those of their higher structures.
In a request from Naik to fast-track the meeting, only some of the items were dealt with at yesterday's meeting.
George Mayor Melvin Naik agreed with the opposition more than once in the council meeting yesterday.
The election of the Speaker, chief whip of Council and four new mayco members are not among those items.
Naik requested a Special Council Meeting for 12 February where this is likely to serve.
The George Herald was unable to reach either the DA political head Tertuis Simmers or the regional chairperson, Jaco Londt, in time for comment before going to press.
Their comment on the situation is being awaited.
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