ANC accuses DA of Overberg 'power grab'

The Democratic Alliance had performed an "underhand power grab" by putting the Overberg district municipality under administration, the ANC says.

ANC Western Cape spokesman on local government Pierre Uys was reacting to the provincial government's decision on Wednesday to intervene in the troubled municipality and dissolve its ANC-controlled council.

Uys said the DA administration had "grabbed the control... that it could not democratically win at the poll".

The move, he said, came after it deliberately destabilised the council and withheld support it was supposed to give.

Uys said provincial local government minister Anton Bredell should have intervened in the council long ago, but instead waited until the deadline for approving a budget had expired so he could appoint an administrator of his choice.

"The province did not do its duty as it has a very clear support and oversight role," he said.

"He merely sat back and purposely waited for the time to run out to simply put in action what had been plotted... it is an underhand power grab."

Bredell said on Wednesday that the council had not met since the end of March this year and had failed to produce a budget for the 2010/11 financial year.

Its speaker and mayor had resigned, and it had not approved integrated development or transport plans.

In April this year, the ANC named Overberg mayor Maurencia Gillion as one of its underperforming public representatives in the province, and ordered her to quit. She hung on for another two months before stepping down.