Garden Route District Municipality approves new roads agreement after legal deadlock

GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The Garden Route District Municipality’s (GRDM) Council has approved a new agreement with the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure (DoI) that allows the municipality to continue maintaining provincial roads while the transfer of the roads function is finalised.

The decision was taken during a special council meeting on Tuesday 21 July.

The agreement follows weeks of uncertainty after the Council’s previous resolution on 3 July, which sought to extend an agreement that had already expired, had raised legal and financial concerns.

Municipal Manager Monde Stratu warned that the earlier decision could result in unlawful spending and reported the matter to the relevant authorities. Following the Office of the Premier and the Department of Local Government’s intervention, the parties negotiated a new agreement, which Council has approved.

The agreement authorises Stratu to sign a new agency agreement with the DoI for an initial period from 1 to 31 July, with provision for further renewals if required. The Council also rescinded the resolutions adopted during the special council meeting on 3 July to clear the way for the new arrangement.

Word in Council

Speaking in Council, ANC councillor Stephen de Vries said a longer interim agreement would be more practical from an administrative perspective.

Other points he raised were similar to those contained in an ANC Western Cape statement issued on 20 July, in which the party described the Council’s earlier decision to revive an expired roads agreement as unlawful.

ANC councillor Stephen de Vries. Photo: gardenroute.gov.za

“Others had to tell us how to do our jobs,” said De Vries, referring to the intervention by the Office of the Premier and the Department of Local Government.

VF Plus councillor Danie Acker congratulated Stratu on the way he had handled the situation and the work done over the past few weeks. However, he said his party could not support the recommendation to sign the agreement, arguing that most of the month had already passed.

VF Plus councillor Danie Acker Photo: gardenroute.gov.za

Speaking to George Herald after the meeting, Acker said the roads in the Garden Route are in dire need of maintenance, and the province is struggling to take over the roads function.

“It is a complete mess. No work has been done over the past month. No funding has been allocated, and it makes no sense to work on a month-to-month contract. We should rather extend it for a year.”

Stratu acknowledged that service delivery had been affected. “It is an unfortunate situation, but these things do happen,” he said. “Staff were not prepared to go out and work because of the concerns they had raised. But once this agreement is signed, that will change.”

The new agreement

According to the report before Council, the new agreement provides a lawful framework for the municipality to continue administering the provincial roads function while negotiations on the Section 197 transfer process continue.

It also ensures that roads employees will continue to receive their salaries while the transfer of staff and responsibilities between the municipality and the provincial department is finalised.

The agreement covers the maintenance and construction of provincial roads for July, with the DoI allocating just over R14.1m to fund the interim arrangement.

Department of Infrastructure sets the record straight on Garden Route Roads Function

Western Cape Minister of Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers, reached out to George Herald with comment on the matter, including the role of the department and their actions.

Simmers is of opion that the article does not give a complete an accurate account of the situation.

Herewith his input, verbatim:

The Western Cape Department of Infrastructure has never wavered in its commitment to resume direct responsibility for the provincial Roads Function in the Garden Route District, which has been performed by the Garden Route District Municipality on an agency basis.

At no stage has the Department been "struggling" to take over the function. It has always been a provincial function.

The challenge arose because the transfer of a small number of disputed employees, whom the GRDM sought to include in the section 197 transfer process, had not yet been resolved by the Garden Route District Municipality's administration.

Although the Department had, for several weeks, indicated its readiness to conclude the transfer and resume the Roads Function, it could not lawfully do so until the statutory labour consultation process had been completed.

The Department therefore worked closely with the Garden Route District Municipality, the Office of the Premier and the Department of Local Government to develop a lawful interim arrangement that:

ensures uninterrupted maintenance and construction of provincial roads;
protects those employees who lawfully form part of the Roads Function while the section 197 labour consultation process is completed;
provides legal certainty regarding governance and expenditure; and
safeguards continued service delivery to the communities of the Garden Route.

The agreement approved by Council on 21 July is therefore not a reversal of policy, nor does it indicate that the Department is unable to resume the Roads Function. It is a temporary and legally compliant arrangement designed to ensure continuity of service while the outstanding statutory labour process is finalised.

Assertions that "no funding has been allocated" are incorrect. The interim agreement specifically provides for Departmental funding for the duration of the agreement to enable the continued delivery of provincial roads services.

Similarly, the suggestion that "no work has been done over the past month" lacks important context. The legal and governance concerns arising from the implementation of the 3 July Council resolution affected the deployment of roads staff pending the conclusion of a lawful interim arrangement.

Throughout this period, the Department remained actively engaged in resolving the matter, negotiating the interim agreement and ensuring that a legally compliant framework was established to protect employees, safeguard public funds and enable the continuation of service delivery.

Throughout this process, the Department's priorities have remained consistent:

Protecting employees.
Protecting public funds.
Ensuring legal compliance.
Maintaining uninterrupted service delivery.
Resuming direct responsibility for the provincial Roads Function through a lawful and sustainable transition.

Responsible government requires lawful decision-making. Where legal, labour or governance risks arise, they must be addressed transparently and responsibly - not ignored. The agreement approved by Council reflects precisely that approach and provides the certainty required while the statutory labour consultation process is concluded.

The Department remains committed to resuming direct responsibility for the provincial Roads Function as soon as all legal requirements have been satisfied and will continue working constructively with all stakeholders to ensure a smooth, lawful and sustainable transition.

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