Cape Town - Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell has rejected an allegation by ANC MPL and leader of the opposition in the legislature Cameron Dugmore that he is biased and unethical.
Dugmore has accused Bredell of interfering in the appointment of the director of corporate services at George municipality, where the DA is battling to remove its own mayor.
Dugmore demanded that Premier Alan Winde sack Bredell and laid a complaint against Bredell with the public protector. Bredell, who was speaking during the debate on the premier’s State of the Province Address (Sopa), in turn accused the ANC of corruption and broken promises.
“As minister I’m responsible for every citizen in this province whether they vote DA or not and my actions are open fro scrutiny without fear or favour. My actions confirm that even in DA-run councils I’ve not hesitated to designate independent investigators to look into allegations of corruption, fraud and maladministration,” said Bredell.
“When it comes to the George municipality, for example, the record shows that I immediately ensured that the Hawks received these reports of alleged fraud and corruption which resulted in the raid by the Hawks, regardless of the fact that two days later there was a by-election in that municipality. And yet they call me biased.”
Bredell said: “It must be noted that it is not me or the DA undertaking these investigations but they are being done by specialised investigators whose reports containing findings and recommendations are handed to the respective councils for action.”
Responding to Bredell, Good Party MPL Brett Herron said: “I wish to remind Bredell that the reason we sit in Mitchells Plain with so many problems to fix, is because it was his original National Party that gave us apartheid and his party that removed so many people from District Six, Constantia, Newlands and elsewhere, dumping them in the dusty townships of the Cape Flats. This is why we are here today.”
Meanwhile, Freedom Front Plus MPL Peter Marais reiterated his call from April last year for the province to be an autonomous region within South Africa.
Contributing to the debate, Marais said: “The premier’s speech was visionary and was meant to instil hope, but it lacked the legal authority to implement anything without central
government’s approval. Control over the appointment of the SAPS, the quality of social housing, education curricula, spatial planning, land reform are all prerogatives of national government.”
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