(Picture: New Knysna Executive Mayor Mark Willemse (right) with new Deputy Mayor Elrick van Aswegan)

This last week has been an unprecedented time for local politics, with councillors voting for their opposition and party leadership instructing their newly elected mayor to resign.

At the time of going to press, the DA’s Councillor Mark Willemse was in his fifth day as the new Executive Mayor of Knysna. Whilst this could change any moment if the DA provincial leaders have their way, there are many local residents who are determined that he should stay, including members of the Knysna Ratepayers Association.

This turn of events started last week when a strategic move in Knysna Council Chambers ousted the then Mayor Eleanore Bouw-Spies, and saw ANC and other opposition parties voting Willemse in to take her place.

This most extraordinary council meeting was held on Wednesday 6 June, with the agenda including approval of the IDP (Integrated Development Plan), Mayor Eleanore Bouw Spies’ presentation and the approval of the Annual Budget, and a ‘vote of no confidence’ in the Mayor, tabled by the ANC, who cited “failure to perform her duties and ensure service delivery in the greater Knysna area, and effective functioning of the council” as the reasons.

The meeting quickly turned into a political circus when the parties erupted into a shouting match, with neither side giving the other a chance to speak. DA Speaker Georlene Wolmarans could do little to control the goings on, because opposition councillors were determined to challenge her decision to keep the ‘vote of no confidence’ as the last item on the agenda.

They insisted that such an important item should be moved up to be addressed earlier, suggesting that a budget proposed by a Mayor who could lose her position on the same day simply didn’t make sense. But whilst the Speaker does have the authority to move items up and down the agenda, Wolmarans would have none of it, despite the continuous clamour from around the council table.

After several adjournments, including a meeting of the chief whips in an attempt to calm things down, and a caucus meeting for both the ANC and the DA, the ANC and other parties finally agreed to follow the agenda in its original format.

It seemed it was back to business as usual as Mayor Bouw-Spies presented the IDP and Budget, both of which were approved by council. But when the time came for the vote of no confidence, seven of the ten DA Councillors left the chambers, not wishing to take part in the vote. The three remaining were Speaker Georlene Wolmarans, ex Deputy Mayor Peter Myers, and Ward 9 Councillor Mark Willemse. A vote ensued and, with only Speaker Wolmarans voting against the motion, Bouw-Spies was officially no longer the Executive Mayor. The Speaker then left the chambers, and once the remaining councillors had voted in an ‘acting speaker’ , Willemse was elected Executive Mayor of Knysna, with COPE’s Ricky van Aswegan his Deputy.

This sent the DA’s top dogs into a total spin, with Western Cape leader, Bonginkosi Madikizela, vehemently labeling the affair as a ‘coup’, and accusing Willemse and Myers of colluding with the opposition for their own gain.
“It is protocol that when members of a caucus lose confidence in their Mayor, they notify the party in order to get concurrence to vote with their conscience. This is established practice to ensure that the party stays informed of its governments. It can never be acceptable for any member of the party to make such a decision without notifying the party on matters that have such huge ramifications as we’ve seen in Knysna,” he said in a press release issued from his office.

On Friday Madikizela and DA Provincial Chairperson Anton Bredell rushed through to meet with the Knysna DA Caucus, and have since put pressure on Willemse to resign from his new Mayoral post.
“(Willemse) is also the Eden District Speaker and therefore by law cannot accept a second executive position,” Madikizela’s press release stated, “Secondly, voting with your conscience becomes questionable if you are the direct beneficiary, which is the case here.”

But the only resignation letter the new Executive Mayor has tendered is for his position as Eden Speaker, which he handed in on Monday 11 June.

Willemse is certainly not without support, and it is quite evident that not everyone shares the DA hierarchy’s views on this issue. The new mayor’s appointment has been referred to as ‘A rare victory for democracy’ by the Knysna Ratepayers Association (KRA) who have publicly pledged their support for Willemse in the following statements.
“With two DA councillors against the nine of the opposition, the ANC could have taken over the town, yet remarkably councillors unanimously elected a DA Mayor. In doing so they proved that they had no self-interest and truly wanted to rescue Knysna from its poor leadership.”
“The only real opposition seems to be from DA’s masters in Cape Town. They would be well-advised to back off, and not to interfere. Intent on advancing the political fortunes of the former mayor, they have inexplicably turned a deaf ear to the complaints of Knysna’s residents for the past two years. Support for the DA in Knysna has evaporated during that period, but their masters in Cape Town have blithely ignored this.”
“Mayor Mark Willemse has our full confidence and support. We respect him for committing to his oath of office and for acting in the interest of Knysna. The support from the people of Knysna is overwhelming. The people’s message to Cape Town is clear: our town requires honest and principled leadership. We wish him strength for the task that awaits him.”

One of our regular contributors Nikki Smit spent last week in Namaqua, competing in the gruelling yet life-changing Expedition Africa as part of the team ‘Special Kind Of Idiots’. She and team-mates Zane Schmahl, Janine Linder and Jesse Tement completed the 530 km course in 136 hours 50 minutes and 9 seconds.
52 Adventure Racing teams from all over the world competed in this event, which included 347km of mountain biking, 160km of trekking and 50km of kayaking. Competitors faced extreme exhaustion as they battled across the most rugged of mountainous terrain including an approximate elevation gain of 9643metres. Sleep was snatched in brief pockets along the way, and supplies picked up at compulsory check points. The eventual winners were Russia’s Skylotec Adventure who completed the gruelling course in 82hours and 11minutes. Even they took a full day longer than the race organisers estimated.
See Nikki’s full story on page 5.

Marie Østbø, the 21 year old Norwegian girl who disappeared from Myoli Beach, Sedgefield, on Wednesday 18 April. 

Almost two weeks after the disappearance of Marie Sæter Østbø, the 21 year old Norwegian girl who disappeared from Myoli Beach on Wednesday 18 April, there is still no sign of her, or indeed any new evidence as to what happened.
Her family in Norway is understandably desperate for any news they can hang hope on, or in the very least some sort of closure. Likewise, the Sedgefield community is devastated, and so very heart-sore for the Østbø family. But with every day that goes by, it seems that the chances of finding her are getting less and less.
And whilst the search continues, unfortunately, so does the spread of misinformation and conjecture. With unsubstantiated ‘sightings’ of Marie in North West province being shared on social media, plus a false story of her body being washed up on the beach in Wilderness, and several versions of what has happened since she went missing being bandied around in local and international media, there is no doubt that family and friends of Marie must be desperately frustrated.
Gathering information and indeed confirmation from sources close to and within the organised search, we have ascertained the following details:
Marie arrived in Sedgefield, as part of a tour, at 17.30 on Wednesday 18 April. The group was due to stay at Afrovibe Back Packers near Myoli Beach. At approximately 18.10 a couple who were part of the tour, went for a walk on the beach, followed five minutes later, by Marie, who was walking alone.
As the wind was already blowing, the couple decided to head back fairly soon. They passed some way behind Marie who was sitting on the sand, facing the sea, but did not stop to call her. As they went up the dune they turned to take a photograph of her from the back. This was the last picture taken of the Norwegian girl before her disappearance.
15 to 20 minutes later, members of the group grew concerned as she had not come back to meet them for dinner at 19.00, as had been arranged. When Marie did not answer calls made to her phone, the tour guide went to the NSRI board in front of the beach and called the emergency number. It was 11 minutes past seven when the call was logged.
Realising there might be need for a search of both land and sea, a member of the NSRI contacted Sedgefield Community Orientated Policing (COP), suggesting they also respond to the scene.
Both NSRI and COP members arrived at Myoli at 19.32 and the search commenced. They were joined by SAPS K9 Search and Rescue, and also asked local security companies to check their clients’ homes in the area. SAPS meanwhile took statements from Marie’s friends, the tour guide and staff at PiliPili Beachfront Restaurant.
The NSRI crew searched the beach on quad bikes and 4×4 vehicles from Myoli beach, right up to Platbank, whilst COP members checked from the river mouth round to Myoli, then the dune, then Claude Urban Drive, including line searches of empty properties and construction sites. They also made door to door enquiries, as they believed Marie could have lost her bearings and sought shelter from the storm.
The weather was extremely bad and the seas exceptionally rough. Members of the search parties could barely hear each other above the wind, and visibility was very poor.
Just after midnight, COP volunteer Michael Simon and two SAPS members discovered a pair of white shoes, an iPhone and a white cap lying on the beach. They were not ‘in a neat pile’ as has since been reported, but approximately 2m apart. Whilst they may have been blown by the wind, they were above the high water mark and the phone was still working.
It was quickly ascertained by speaking to members of the tour group that the shoes and phone belonged to Marie, but the cap did not.
The search stopped at 02.00 and restarted at first light – 06.30. By this time it was all hands on deck. More members of SAPS, a Police Dive Unit, Metro Search and Rescue, EMS, the Community Police Forum, Wilderness Search and Rescue, Sedgefield Fire Department and the ASR/EMS Skymed rescue helicopter, arrived to join the K-9 Search and Rescue unit, NSRI Wilderness crew, COP, and Neighbourhood Watch members on the scene, and the search of both land and sea recommenced.
Efforts continued for the whole day, and the days to follow, with various people giving assistance, including the pilot of a motorised paraglider who undertook aerial patrols up and down the coast over the next four days.
When SAPS issued an official alert regarding the missing girl, there was unfortunately a discrepancy in the description of her clothing. Whilst the ‘Missing Person’ report said that she was wearing a white top and blue jeans, it has been confirmed by those on her tour group that she was actually in a dark blue floral top with black long pants. (See picture on page 3)
This mistake is thought to have been as a result of misreading the CCtv footage from the security camera at PiliPili beach bar, taken just before she left for the beach. According to a local CCtv consultant, infrared will show dark colours as light at night. When the footage was taken the infrared was already on as the light was fading, which had a confusing effect on the picture.
There has also been misinformation in some reports regarding Marie’s camera. Whilst it has been stated that she had it with her on the beach, it has been confirmed that the camera was left in her bedroom, where it was later found by SAPS.
Over the following weekend as the search continued to spread further, various members of Norwegian media arrived to report the story of their missing compatriot. Unfortunately there was little in the way of good news that could be offered to them.
On the following Monday a substantial aerial search was undertaken by a Working on Fire helicopter, with various organisational representantives on board. The chopper flight covered the length of the beach, dunes and shallows from Gericke’s Point to Knysna Heads, including over the Swartvlei Lagoon, and then following the rip tide parallel to the coast 2-3km out to sea, all the way to Buffalo Bay.
By Tuesday 24 April SAPS spokesperson Captain Malcolm Pojie was left with no choice but to advise the media that the search had to be scaled down.
“It has already been seven days since she was reported missing, so whilst we will resume the search, it will be a scaled down operation as far as our resources are concerned,” he said at the time.
(Continued on Page 3)
Mike Hofhuis, director of Safety and Security for Sedgefield Ratepayers and also the Chairperson of COP is convinced that the search has been comprehensive and has is covering as many bases as possible. “We wish to thank all the emergency services and community members for their assistance,” he said. “Specifically SAPS K9 Rescue, EMS Search & Rescue, NSRI, the Police Dive Unit and Sedgefield Fire Department.”
Hofhuis also cautioned members of the public to report any information they might receive to the relevant authorities, rather than on social media. “In the interests of Marie’s family and friends, please refrain from speculation, or even sharing speculation of others.”
Sedgefield Neighbourhood Watch Chairperson Michael Simon, who was one of the first responders on the scene and on the forefront of the search effort, declined to comment on what may or may not have happened due to the sensitivity of the case. “I do hope that there is closure soon for her family and friends in Norway in what must be a very difficult time for them,” he said.

Efforts towards stabilising the storm-damaged Myoli dune by a group of seven property owners called the ‘Myoli Beach Residents Association’ are raising serious and very heated debate between parties concerned, with both Knysna Municipality and SANParks locking horns with the Association members.
SANParks – responsible for the beach area right up to the high water mark, has raised opposition to the work being done, as they believe that not all options have been looked at to stabilise the dune, and that alternatives that are ‘softer’ on the environment would far better serve the purpose.
Sedgefield Ratepayers Association has also weighed in, stating in a letter to the media that
“We have no prior knowledge of this work, which has apparently been started by residents of this area and we have certainly never approved what is being done.” (see full letter on Letters Page)
Meanwhile the Knysna Municipality has issued an injunction for the Myoli Association’s team to stop work on the dune due to the lack of an OSCAE Permit, but the Association has continued with the task, citing that the Section 30A directive from the Department of Environmental Affairs, which permits them to commence immediate construction of the gabion stabilising structures, is from a higher authority, and thus overrides the Municipality’s call to halt.
With all parties seeking legal advice it seems evident that this matter may only be solved in court.

(See page one and three under ‘latest edition’ for the continuation of this story)