A former DA councillor at the Theewaterskloof Municipality (Caledon) says racism, and not promises of cash had convinced her to jump back into the arms of the ANC.
Catherine Booysen-Nefdt was one of two Theewaterskloof councillors “rescued” from a Century City hotel on February 4 by Local Government MEC Anton Bredell after word got out that the ANC would try to co-opt as many as 15 DA councillors.
But on Monday Booysen said her disillusionment with the DA started in October last year after overhearing a senior white councillor from her party making a racist statement in a telephone call.
On November 2 she “reached out” to the ANC for whom she had previously been a councillor after her complaint of racism was not adequately dealt with.
“I overheard her saying that ‘the ka****s think, because they’ve studied at UWC, they can lead the municipality’ which shocked me,” said Booysen.
She complained to mayor Chris Punt who instead told her to discuss her issues within the party’s caucus.
After being “rescued” by Bredell at the hotel where she was staying with her husband, and submitting an affidavit in which she described the events before she got to Century City, Booysen was informed later that week that she would appear before a DA disciplinary committee.
“That’s when I rejoined the ANC,” said Booysen.
In her affidavit, Booysen said members of the ANC had approached her on several occasions to return to the party, and to convince other members of the DA to join her.
Booysen denied that she had ever taken money from the ANC and said her defection was on principle.
But Punt said his former colleague had never complained about racism within the DA’s Theewaterskloof caucus. “She’s looking for a reason (to explain her defection),” said Punt.
Theewaterskloof Ward 10 councillor Mekie Plato, who was also at the hotel with Booysen, was more revealing in her affidavit, saying that she was promised a job in the municipality’s administration if she quit her seat. But before anything concrete could come her way, Plato had to first sign a document which she refused.
The DA said the affidavits were proof that the ANC was “waging a co-ordinated” campaign to unsettle and lure DA councillors in the Theewaters-kloof Municipality.
“This new evidence suggests that the size and scope of the ANC’s ‘Project Reclaim’ is bigger than originally thought,” said DA provincial leader Theuns Botha.
But ANC provincial secretary Songezo Mjongile said there would have been no point in bribing Booysen to resign her position.
“She didn’t have to leave (the DA) because she was a mayoral committee member. The DA must transform itself into being a non-racial party,” said Mjongile.
The DA says “Project Reclaim” was an attempt by the ANC to undermine voters and take over municipalities by inducing councillors to resign, thus forcing by-elections and ultimately control of municipalities governed in coalition.