Oudtshoorn: A town hijacked by a corrupt minority
Thursday 7 August 2014
The DA calls on the ANC Secretary General, Gwede Mantashe, as well as President Jacob Zuma, as leader of the ANC, to openly condemn the abuse of democracy in Oudtshoorn.
It is exactly one year since, in the by-election of 7 August 2013, the DA became the majority party in Oudtshoorn and was ready to take over the terminally ill Oudtshoorn council.
However, for the past year, the ANC has blatantly disregarded the clearly expressed will of the voters and has refused to relinquish power. This has led to an array of court battles, ranging from the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal to the Constitutional Court and currently the High Court in Cape Town. Millions of taxpayers' rands have been wasted on these court cases.
It is becoming abundantly clear that this is an intentional tactic of the ANC to cling to power in Oudtshoorn until the municipal elections in 2016. They are planning to continue with their illegitimate, unconstitutional and very expensive behaviour until then - hoping that in these elections they will regain the majority.
What is also apparent, is that the broader ANC condones this abomination. Until this day, not a single ANC leader has said a word condemning the local ANC's behaviour. The ANC's behaviour has significant and far reaching consequences. If the contempt for the Constitution that the ANC is currently displaying in Oudtshoorn is repeated in every town, city or province that the ANC will inevitably and increasingly lose to an opposition party, it does not bode well for our future.
What is also apparent, is that corruption and mismanagement is only worsening in Oudtshoorn. A brief summary of the problems include:
- According to the Auditor General, Oudtshoorn has wasted R9.3 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
- The ANC-controlled municipality increased property rates with 14%. It is the highest ever increase in the country.
- The ANC-controlled municipality recently defaulted on their Eskom-account to the amount of R7 million.
- Since November last year, no standing committee meetings have taken place and this year no mayoral committee meetings.
As soon as a judgement has been passed in the matter currently before court, where 11 DA councillors and a Cope councillor are opposing their illegal expulsion, the DA will announce a number of interventions in our ongoing battle to re-establish democracy in Oudtshoorn.
In the meantime, for the sake of democracy - senior leaders in the ANC must unconditionally condemn what is happening in Oudthsoorn and prove to all South Africans that there is no place for autocracy and contempt for the Rule of Law in South Africa.
Statement issued by Dr. Ivan Meyer: DA Western Cape Leader, August 7 2014
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