Cape Town - Opposition parties walked out of a City of Cape Town council meeting on Wednesday, after refusing to discuss a Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) matter linked to a pending court case.
The South Road Families’ Association (SRFA) made an urgent court application to prevent the city from evicting 26 families and demolishing properties in the area in March.
The properties have been earmarked by the city to make way for a MyCiTi bus route through Wynberg.
On April 29, the city acknowledged that while it opposed the SRFA’s court application, no evictions or demolitions would take place until a court decision in September.
On Wednesday, the roll-out of Phase 2 for the planned bus route was tabled for discussion during the council meeting.
The ANC and ACDP raised concerns that the matter was sub judice pending the court case and should not be discussed.
The DA majority overruled this and the discussion went ahead, prompting the ANC and ACDP to leave the meeting.
ANC chief whip Xolani Sotashe said: “We cautioned the council that the matter was sub judice, but the DA steamrollered the process and in effect disobeyed the court order.
“They showed double standards yet again today (Wednesday), making the discussion to go ahead despite the rule of law. We could not be part of breaking the law,” Sotashe said.
He said the city had under-spent on the capital budget for transport-related projects for the past financial year.
Mayco member for Transport Brett Herron said: “The ANC has frequently and publicly threatened to persuade the National Department of Transport to withdraw the grant funding earmarked for the roll-out of Phase 2.
“Next year, in the local government elections, the DA will have a field day because we will inform those residents in the metro south-east how the ANC is preventing the City from bringing decent public transport to those areas.”
Meanwhile, the city has encouraged Wynberg residents to engage with officials about their concerns related to vacant city-owned properties.
This comes after city-owned houses earmarked for demolition, to make way for a MyCiTi bus route through the area, were recently vandalised.
Mayco member for Finance Ian Neilson said the city was spending between R12 000 and R20 000 a month on security on each property.
The Wynberg Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association (WRRA) chairperson Kristina Davidson are concerned that vacant city-owned properties west of Wynberg’s Main Road have been vandalised.
Neilson has urged residents to engage with the city “to ensure that they are informed of the current processes”.
Davidson said the WRRA has been engaging with the city for the past 18 months.
Cape Times