Cape Town - The City of Cape Town is under attack from the ANC, in collusion with the SA Human Rights Commission, Ses’Khona People’s Rights Movement and the Lwandle ministerial inquiry, mayor Patricia de Lille has charged.
In the council on Wednesday, De Lille slammed these entities for being ANC proxies.
Damage to city property – including burning tyres and violent demonstrations – were the “hallmarks of the modern ANC” in the province, and had already cost the city R20 million.
“Having realised they are not in a position to win fair and square at the ballot box, they have decided to try to win by hook or by crook with violence and disruption.”
It was unlikely that the ANC would take public responsibility for this damage by Ses’Khona and others “because it suits them to have a proxy” to do their work.
There was also a human cost to the ANC-motivated violence, since the R20m could have been used to build houses or provide services. “The ANC will do what it can to create havoc in our city and our province. Instead of allowing for democratic debate it would “lie, cheat, break things and shout to make its voice heard”.
De Lille said the Lwandle inquiry set up by Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu was a “farce”.
The “political hit squad” was made up of “spent forces of mostly former ANC MPs... to discredit the city”. They had already decided on the outcome.
As for the SA Human Rights Commission, it had been deployed “to weigh in on Cape Town and Cape Town alone”.
The commission recently accused the DA-led metro of racial discrimination for providing chemical toilets to four areas in Khayelitsha.
De Lille said the city respected Chapter 9 institutions, but it would not accept the findings of an institution being abused for political gains.
“Either the (commission) does not understand the realities of government in South Africa, or it chooses to ignore it to make political points.”
Despite poor sanitation delivery in other municipalities, the commission had accused only Cape Town of racism.
“We will... go to Johannesburg, Mandela Bay, Buffalo City and eThekwini to lay the same complaints with the (commission)... “
Cape Town had the country’s highest toilet provision target, and chemical toilets were a last resort. It was looking at sanitation solutions.
Taking a swipe at Ses’Khona, led by suspended ANC councillor Loyiso Nkohla, and the so-called poo protesters, De Lille said: “Their integrity is worth about as much as the poo they throw to make their point.”
Affidavits submitted by residents had shown Ses’Khona stood to make about R330 000 from selling plots on the Sanral-owned land in Lwandle.
The organisation had also taken responsibility for inciting violence in Kosovo and Philippi, leaving more than 5 000 households without power.
Nkohla was not given an opportunity to respond, but did question the mayor’s criticism of a “respected” institution such as the commission.
De Lille responded: “Anyone can say the city has violated the right to basic sanitation, but it must be backed up by fact. We would expect a Chapter 9 institution to be fair and equal to all.”
But the ANC’s metro leader Xolani Sotashe dismissed De Lille’s statement as “absolute rubbish”.
He told the Cape Argus after the meeting: “There is no organisation called the ANC Ses’khona. This is an old song of the mayor to cover up the city’s bias in terms of service delivery.”
He said the city wanted to blame service delivery protests on the ANC to taint the party’s image ahead of the 2010 local government election. “It is a defection strategy because the city is not servicing poor communities.”
Sotashe said De Lille’s criticism of the HRC was seen by the ANC as a sign of disrespect.
“If Chapter Nine institutions come out in favour of the DA, they are praised but now that the findings are against the DA, the SAHRC is attacked.”
Her allegations that the Lwandle Inquiry was nothing more than a political hit squad were also disrespectful.
Nkohla said later that Ses’Khona was blamed for everything that went wrong in the city. But he said the organisation was an independent NGO and not in alliance with the ANC or the DA.
He also challenged De Lille and Premier Helen Zille to provide proof that Ses’Khona benefited from the sale of land in Lwandle.
Cape Argus