Overstrand municipal manager Dr Dean O’Neill has been seconded to acting municipal manager in George for three months following the termination of its previous manager’s contract.

The George council requested O’Neill’s services for a three-month period with the secondment approved by the Overstrand Municipal Council during a special meeting on 29 July. The secondment has an option to be extended for three more months if required.

Council also approved the appointment of Edward Jantjies as Overstrand’s acting municipal manager in O’Neill’s absence. Overstrand Executive Mayor Alderman Archie Klaas said that measures have been put in place to not interrupt any operations while O’Neill fulfills his acting responsibilities in George.

A secondment is a temporary assignment to another organisation while the employee remains employed by the original employer.

A prominent figure

O’Neill has become a prominent figure in the administration of the Overberg local government, particularly for his role in maintaining consecutive clean audits for Overstrand Municipality from the Auditor-General.

“In June 2026, he coordinated the Overstrand Municipality’s Incient Command Centre response in Kleinmond, Gansbaai and Stanford, providing temporary safety facilities and reminders on immigration laws during civil tensions,” said Klaas in a statement released earlier this year. “In April 2024, local media celebrate him earning his PhD in Public Administration from the University of the Western Cape.”

His temporary move to George comes just weeks after the Director of Public Prosecutions declined to prosecute him and other local leaders following a nearly two-year Hawks investigation. They were accused of alleged irregular tender awards related to the De Mond Caravan Park and Fisherhaven Lagoon projects.

Hermanus Times reported on this decision which cleared them of criminal prosecutions in the matter.