Songezo Mjongile, the provincial secretary of the Western Cape ANC, announced yesterday in Cape Town that his party would now govern the West Coast local municipality of Matzikama after entering into a coalition with The People's Independent Civic Organisation and the New Generation Party.

The Matzikama municipality includes the West Coast towns of Vrendenal, Lutzville and Doringbaai.

Last year's local government elections failed to produce an outright winner of the municipality and the two organisations swung the balance of forces in the DA's favour through a pact of co-governance. But they have now ditched the Western Cape governing party, accusing it of "arrogance and elitism".

The small municipality has 15 seats, with the ANC holding six, the DA seven while TPICO and NGP have one apiece.

"The ANC, TPICO and NGP coalition will take services to those people who need it most and give them the priority they deserve," said Mjongile.

This brings to eight the number of municipalities controlled by the ANC in the Western Cape through coalitions with smaller parties, while the DA has the outright control of 17.