Since the 2021 local government elections, Theewaterskloof (TWK) Municipality has become a case study in the opportunities – and instability – that can come with coalition government at local government level.

Three mayors. Multiple political realignments. A court battle. A financial intervention.

And, in 2026, a municipality making headlines over everything from electricity and water shortages to a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigations and internal disputes.

The question is not simply who controls TWK’s council. It is what happens to the municipality when political control repeatedly changes hands.

Council seats and agreements

TWK entered the 2021 elections with the Democratic Alliance (DA) as the largest party, winning 11 of the council’s 27 seats.

The African National Congress (ANC) won eight and GOOD Party won three. Rounding up the council were the Patriotic Alliance (PA), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Freedom Front (FF) Plus and Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party (SRWP).

With 14 seats required for a majority, governing required political agreements.

The first post-election arrangement brought together the ANC, PA, GOOD and EFF. PA councillor Karel Papier became mayor while ANC councillor Derick Appel took the speaker position.

Papier remained mayor until his death in August 2023. Subsequently, the PA’s Mary Liebenberg was elected mayor.

Then came 2024. GOOD moved into an alliance with the DA and SRWP. And, Lincoln de Bruyn of the DA became mayor, while GOOD’s John Michels became speaker.

This new arrangement lasted only weeks. On 2 September 2024, De Bruyn was removed through a motion of no confidence.

The motion had been submitted by the ANC caucus on 16 August 2024, shortly after De Bruyn became mayor. Council minutes identify the motion as being brought under section 58 of the Municipal Structures Act.

And after yet another realignment, FF Plus councillor Theunis “Tienie” Zimmerman was thereafter elected mayor. The dispute subsequently moved to court.

The Western Cape High Court found that the process used to remove De Bruyn was unlawful and invalidated both his removal and Zimmerman’s appointment.

But political instability is only one part of the story.

Financial and administrative consequences

The more important question is whether political battles translated into consequences for the municipality’s finances, administration and ability to deliver basic services.

And the headlines coming out of the TWK in 2026 suggest there is plenty to investigate.

In July, Hermanus Times reported the municipality as being in severe financial distress after receiving yet another qualified audit opinion for the 2024-’25 financial year.

The Auditor-General identified TWK among municipalities facing going-concern uncertainty, while the Western Cape Provincial Treasury place it among municipalities requiring intensified financial support.

In August, water supply became another major issue.

Villiersdorp residents faced ongoing problems linked to vandalism and damaged infrastructure while questions were raised about the municipality’s water use from the Elandskloof Dam. The municipality said ageing infrastructure, population growth and vandalism were putting increasing pressure on its water resources.

Electricity problems have also featured prominently. In June, residents in parts of the municipal area reported being without electricity for more than a month. The problems in Grabouw and Botrivier where however, linked to storm damage, vandalism and theft.

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Perhaps the most significant development yet, followed suite. In August, President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised an SIU investigation into the procurement of 14 backup generators for boreholes and water pump stations in TWK.

The SIU is investigating allegations including serious maladministration, corruption, irregular expenditure and the unlawful or improper loss of public funds. The procurement under investigation dates back to the 2022-’23 financial year.

And in September 2026, the municipality’s internal administration itself came under scrutiny after municipal manager Walter Hendricks faced a court appearance following allegations of the use of racial slurs.

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Hermanus Times reported on the incident which is said to have taken place during a meeting with a municipal director. Hendricks denied the allegations. A senior municipal officer was also suspended following a separate alleged racial incident.

However, none of these developments, individually, indicate to or proves that a coalition government caused TWK’s problems.

Timeline difficult to ignore

An already fragile municipality exposes its risks when paired with political instability.

The evidence from the TWK cannot provide a simple verdict on a whether coalition government works at local level. And its financial deterioration cannot be attributed to coalition politics alone.

But the timeline remains difficult to ignore. In 2022-’23, the municipality reported an unqualified audit opinion and had collected more than 95% of its planned revenue, ending the financial year with a surplus.

By March 2023, however, governance instability and obligations exceeding available cash were beginning to expose deeper weaknesses. By August 2024, the collection rate had fallen to 64%, while cash and cash equivalents had declined from R70,96 million in August 2023 to R43,28 million a year later.

TWK has since remained under financial pressure. Its 2024-’25 annual report records a qualified audit opinion. The Auditor-General identified problems including insufficient supporting evidence for infrastructure assets and contracted services.

TWK’s Financial Recovery Plan also identifies governance challenges, including frequent changes in committee membership and disruptions to continuity and decision-making.

These developments occurred alongside significant political instability. The motion of no confidence against De Bruyn in September 2024 became the clearest example of this instability.

Moreover, the strongest finding cannot therefore be that coalition government caused Theewaterskloof’s decline.

Rather, the municipality’s experience shows how difficult coalition governance can become when political instability and weak municipal capacity exist at the same time.

Control and Governance are not mutually inclusive

A coalition needs to do more than secure enough votes to select a mayor.

It must maintain functioning committees, provide consistent oversight, support a stable administration, pass and implement credible budget and protect the municipalty’s ability to deliver. In TWK, the political record shows repeated realignment.

Financial records do not establish that coalition government is inherently ineffective. The administrative record points to weaknesses in countinuity and oversight.

These findings do not establish that coalition government is inherently ineffective.

However, what they show is that political control and effective government are not necessarily the same thing.

TWK’s experience since 2021 suggests that the real test of coalition government is not whether parties can assemble a majority.

It is, instead, whether they can maintain enough political and administrative stability to govern effectively once that majority has been secured.