A breakdown in communication between residents and council, high staff vacancies and interference from councillors were key issues raised in a provincial government's diagnostic report on challenges faced by the Knysna Municipality.

A 109-page diagnostic report, produced by the Western Cape Local Government Department, has unpacked how and where the Knysna Municipality has failed.

Knysna, once a gem in Western Cape's Garden Route, has made headlines over recent months over a lack of water, a sewage crisis and political back and forth about who is to blame. A former council speaker has made calls for the council to be put under administration.

In December 2023, the municipality - along with the provincial Department of Local Government, Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, and the Garden Route Disaster Management Centre, under the leadership of the Local Government Department - decided that a diagnostic assessment was needed to address the root causes of the issues raised about the municipality, including issues raised by the municipality itself. The provincial treasury also conducted an assessment of Knsyna's finances.

The report was adopted during a special council sitting on Friday, 1 March, after a previous attempt to adopt it failed.

Here are five key takeaways from the report.

1. Council functionality

The report found, during an interview with the office of Mayor Aubrey Tsengwa, that there were several issues related to governance, including delaying tactics...