For the umpteenth time the ANC’s move to unseat Western Cape Premier Helen Zille failed as a motion of no confidence in her was defeated after 90 minutes of debate in the legislature.
The ANC had brought the motion following the DA national leadership’s sanction of Zille over her tweets in which she stated that colonialism was “not all bad”.
In a controversial decision, Zille was removed from all DA leadership positions but retained the position of Western Cape premier.
The ANC’s Khaya Magaxa had brought the motion but he was not in the chamber last night and excused because he was summoned to his party’s national executive meeting in his capacity as acting provincial chairperson.
Instead of Magaxa, ANC MPL Cameron Dugmore was the opposition’s main speaker and delved into their objections to the rule of Zille.
Dugmore cited the sale of the Tafelberg School site to private developers, and instead of restitution, said Zille’s administration had sought to trample on the “very victims of colonialism”.
“And what has now become obvious is that the real deeply held views of Zille, have now become clear for all of us to see. In fact these views have been embraced and entrenched in the way this province is governed,” said Dugmore.
He said Zille’s government was a classic case of conservatism hiding behind the fig-leaf of liberalism.
“It is a deeply entrenched view that denies structural and systemic poverty, which manifests in race, class and patriarchal mindset. An attitude which pays lip service to our Constitution and its obligation to effect redress and transformation,” said Dugmore.