By Johnathan Paoli
Knysna’s long-running water and sanitation crisis has been thrust back into the national spotlight after Parliament’s Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Public Administration gave the local municipality just 14 days to submit a clear plan to address the failures.
The ultimatum follows mounting concerns over broken water pumps, sewage spillages, and the Western Cape provincial government’s attempt to dissolve the council under Section 139 of the Constitution.
The move would allow an administrator to be appointed and could lead to fresh elections within 90 days if the National Council of Provinces approves.
“Let us acknowledge the work that has been done so far, but we need that work to be maintained. Communities, all they need are service delivery. We do not want excuses, we want it done, so that communities can know they are being looked after,” committee chairperson Mxolisi Kaunda said.
He warned that Knysna’s collapsing infrastructure was threatening not only households but also the town’s tourism-driven economy.
Parliament’s intervention comes after the committee visited Knysna this week to hear submissions from political leaders, business forums, residents’ associations, and civil society groups.
According to committee spokesperson Malatswa Molepo, the central issue revolved around the failure of water pumps, which have left communities with unreliable water supply while sewage spillages contaminate streets, rivers, and the estuary.
The Western Cape executive has cited years of governance failures, chronic infrastructure breakdowns, and health risks as grounds to invoke Section 139(1)(c) and dissolve Knysna’s ANC-led council.
But local stakeholders have pushed back, saying dissolution would do little to address the crisis.
Despite service delivery failures, organisations including the Greater Knysna Business Chamber, the local residents’ association, and civil groups told Parliament they opposed council dissolution.
They argued that many of the same councillors would return after by-elections, while structural problems such as ageing pipes and administrative disputes would remain unresolved.
Mayor Thando Matika accused Western Cape MEC Anton Bredell of “playing politics,” insisting the ANC-led coalition needed more time to stabilise the administration.
Several civil society groups agreed, including Changes for Knysna leader Lynn Kayster.
“The person behind the system is failing us. I’ve come to the conclusion that our municipal manager is either incompetent or ignorant and he needs to go,” Kayster said.
While acknowledging improvements in political and administrative stability since the appointment of the current administration, the committee expressed frustration that the municipality had still not fixed the broken water pumps or resolved disputes with service providers.
Molepo confirmed that stakeholders raised concerns about the timing of the provincial government’s move, with some suggesting that political motives were driving the intervention rather than service delivery imperatives.
“Some were concerned that the invocation of Section 139(1)(c) would not address longstanding challenges, including ageing infrastructure,” he said.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), however, has taken the opposite view, calling the ANC-led coalition a failure that has accelerated Knysna’s decline.
In a previous statement last week, DA Knysna caucus leader Levael Davis said the municipality was plagued by daily sewage overflows, broken pumps, unreliable water supply, stalled projects, and wasted funds on outsourcing.
He said Knysna has a political leadership problem, and the town needs politicians who will raise service standards, govern well, and hold administration accountable, calling for dissolution and the appointment of an administrator as the “only path” to restore governance.
The select committee will reconvene on Thursday to finalise its reflections before submitting recommendations to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).
A plenary session scheduled for Friday will decide whether to uphold or reject the Western Cape provincial executive’s notice to dissolve the council.
In the meantime, Knysna’s municipality has two weeks to submit a detailed plan on fixing water and sanitation systems, including resolving its dispute with the service provider responsible for maintaining the pumps.
Kaunda stressed that Parliament’s priority was to safeguard residents and the economy.
“The residents of all municipalities deserve quality services, and any decision must be taken with the interest of the people at heart,” he said.
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