Cape Town - An opposition councillor has maintained his innocence after being issued a letter from the Mossel Bay municipality stating that he allegedly violated the code of conduct for councillors, for requesting that charges that led to the suspension of the municipal manager be made public.
The letter from the office of the speaker to Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa (Icosa) councillor, Dawid Kamfer, said he allowed for information to reach the media, in which among other things, he insinuated that the DA-led municipality would not hesitate to make the complaint known if it was a person of colour.
This followed the suspension of municipal manager, Thys Giliomee, recently over sexual harassment allegations.
Kamfer was given until Tuesday to respond to why he should not be charged.
In responding papers on Tuesday, his lawyers said there was no merit in the charges and that “no proof” exists in the “factual basis” for the charges that their client leaked correspondence to the public.
“My client has a duty through his oath of office to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. In fulfilling that duty, his right to participate in the political process and call on the municipality to be transparent in its dealings is protected by the constitution.”
Municipality spokesperson Nicky le Roux said they had received Kamfer’s response on Tuesday and the Speaker would comment on Wednesday.
Kamfer said he wasn’t shocked when he received the letter from the municipality.
“I am the only councillor who speaks his mind about what is wrong because I am not only a councillor, but I am also a political leader in the Western Cape. I am not guilty of what they are charging me, and before the newspaper talked to me it was already on social media, put there by the acting municipal manager. When the newspaper called me, I gave my political view as a political leader,” he said.
But DA constituency head in Mossel Bay, Jaco Londt, said Kamfer “failed” in his duty by communicating “confidential information” out of a closed session before a thorough process was concluded.
“The councillor tried to play politics for short term gain and thereby negatively impacted the legal processes being followed as well as the image of the municipality by only communicating part of the information that suits his narrative,” he said.
Icosa president Jeffrey Donson accused the DA of wanting to silence the party’s councillors.
“The community is entitled to know. Icosa board members will continue to ask questions, transparency is important and Icosa must play its constitutional oversight role. The DA wants to silence Icosa councillors everywhere, but they will not remain silent,” he said.
Cape Times