Cape Town - The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid), which awarded Cape Town the title World Design Capital 2014, entered the fray over whether Cape Town had bought the title, saying on Saturday it was “disheartened” by the allegations.
Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu made the claim this week during the debate on the State of the Nation address. “The DA city council basically paid the judges for the Design Capital award, and will continue to pay these judges for the next three years,” she said.
The city dismissed her claim as “blatant lies”.
Now Icsid has responded.
“To the best of our knowledge, Icsid has no reason to believe there was a breach of agreement between any of the selection committee members that would support these allegations of misconduct,” Icsid secretary general Dilki de Silva, of Canada, said in a statement.
“We are disheartened by any allegations that would question the credibility of the process by which the WDC cities are appointed,” she said.
Icsid’s statement follows that of Professor Jeremy Myerson, one of five judges on the selection committee that awarded Cape Town the title.