PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Plett is holding its thumbs that the Battle for Bitou may shortly be resolved. 

Following a turbulent three months in which Bitou was left mayorless and plagued by political shenanigans and a litany of court cases, order could be restored tomorrow, Friday 9 July, as the Western Cape High Court has ordered the municipality to elect a new mayor on that date.

The turmoil started in April this year when former mayor Peter Lobese was ousted in a unanimous vote of no confidence during a special council meeting. Lobese, who represents the Active United Front (AUF), became a PR councillor and the ANC deputy mayor, Sandiso Gcabayi, took over as acting mayor. Both the DA and ANC stated the main reason for the move to oust Lobese was to restore stability within the municipality.

This however turned out to have the opposite effect. After the move the DA, along with Lobese, last month attempted to topple the ANC-run municipality, electing DA Caucus Leader Bill Nel as mayor.

This election happened during a council meeting last month only attended by the DA and the AUF, which nevertheless represented the majority of councillors, with Lobese siding with the DA.

The ANC then challenged the election in the Western Cape High Court and on 3 June the court ordered that the meeting in question was null and void and ordered that a new mayor should be elected on 8 June. The court also ordered that this election should be the first order of business.

During the 8 June meeting, this did not happen. Instead, Speaker Euan Wildeman first moved to suspend Lobese, referencing a criminal case involving alleged corruption, fraud and racketeering having been opened against him.

This blocked Lobese from casting his vote for a new mayor, which led to a split vote between the DA candidate, Nel, and the ANC candidate Gcabayi.

The Bitou council has been in a precarious political position since the local government elections in 2016 that saw the DA and ANC each winning six out of the 13 available seats. The AUF won a single seat, leaving the two major political parties vying for Lobese's favour in a coalition. The AUF then formed a coalition with the ANC to govern Bitou, with Lobese becoming the mayor.

In May 2017, Lobese left the ANC to form a new coalition with the DA, citing corruption in the ANC. This relationship however soured and about a year later the AUF was back with the ANC.

Following the 8 June council meeting it was the DA's turn to approach the court. The party asked the court to, among others, declare Lobese's suspension illegal as due process had not been followed.

Last week the Western Cape High Court ordered that the suspension was unlawful and therefore null and void.

The court also ordered Wildeman to convene a council meeting on 9 July for the election of a mayor. Should Wildeman fail to convene the meeting, the court ordered that the majority of councillors may elect an acting speaker for the purpose of electing a mayor and proceed with the election.

The court further ordered that Wildeman must include motions of no confidence in himself and Gcabayi in the agenda.

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