Cape Town – Mayco members have drawn lines in the sand over who they will support as mayor Dan Plato and Grant Twigg slug it out for the DA’s top job in the Cape Town metro.
Many of them have been vocal about their support while others do not feel comfortable to publicly voice their support, saying it’s an internal party election.
Mayco member for water and waste services Xanthea Limberg and member for safety and security JP Smith are supporters of Plato’s campaign, while member for human settlements Malusi Booi and member for community and health services Zahid Badroodien are allies of Twigg.
Most recently, member for spatial planning and environment Marian Nieuwoudt had come out publicly to announce her support for Twigg.
She said: “I’ve known Grant Twigg as someone who really holds on and has integrity, his leadership is admirable and we should choose a candidate that works on the ground. Grant allowed the metro’s voice to be heard.”
On his support in the rest of mayco, Twigg said: “Like those who brought a motion of no confidence against me, I did not after demotion fight them. I continued to build, that’s why we have 114 branches. We are going to continue to build. I will work harder.”
Plato said: “The last couple of weeks there were talks about whether the metro is broken, I don’t know what this means, those are not my words. I did not say those words, that would be an exaggeration. I would say there is work to be done. The pilot who refuses to see that they are flying too low and ignores the warning signals will crash into the mountain.”
Political analyst Sanusha Naidioo said: “This is an interesting dynamic in the party because what we are seeing is the party shadowing itself in the background with its own internal battles and they tend to shy away from it. What the party is currently experiencing is a legitimacy crisis and this should not come as a surprise for ordinary people. The fractions within the DA are visible because of its racial identity and racial divide.”
Former mayco member for urban development Brett Herron described the DA as a “hot mess”.
“The party is not held together by common values or public interest. Rather its public reps are motivated by self-interest and fighting over positions.
“The only reason it’s relevant to me is because as a ratepayer I have neither the government I voted for nor the government we deserve,” he said.
Cape Argus