Cape Town - Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato is at the centre of a political storm after his comments about people coming into the Western Cape and sponging off taxpayers.
Plato was recorded making the comments on the sideline of a public meeting in Mitchells Plain.
On Tuesday, Plato was invited to a meeting with Westridge residents, hosted by Mayco Member for Area South, Eddie Andrews.
In the 84-second long clip, Plato is seen chatting to a man while standing at a podium.
Plato says: “If you must see how we must trim the budget. We pay, currently as we speak, 99 percent for those coming into the Western Cape. The two of us pay for them.
“They can’t fend for themselves. Lots and lots of our budgets go into them, unfortunately, and that is a challenge, a major challenge and one has to bear that in mind,” he says.
The man, wearing a pink shirt and beige pants, responds: “I don’t have a problem with people coming in. It says to me that people from other parts sees this as the land of opportunity.
“If I take a look at guys from Congo, Malawians and Zimbabweans, they’ve got a far better work ethic than our own people and they take work often our own people don’t want.”
By this time, Plato seems to have lost interest in the conversation as is looking around and takes his phone out.
They are interrupted by someone who comes to greet Plato and the video ends.
A journalist posted the video on Facebook, where many people took exception to Plato’s remarks.
Moeshfieka Botha wrote: “It seems the DA in the Western Cape is not on board with this supposed national policy (One South Africa for All).
Basil Coetzee demanded Plato’s head: “Dan Plato must be removed as the DA mayor (not the elected people’s Mayor). This man just said that people from the EC can’t think for themselves.[sic]”
But Plato’s spokesman, Greg Wagner, yesterday claimed the video was ‘fake news’.
“More fake news. Mayor Plato was responding to a question from a local ratepayer about budget allocations and said that budget is also allocated for service delivery to those who come to Western Cape,” Wagner said.
“Mayor Plato has warned against people manipulating the media like this ahead of the elections.”