Parks Tau abusing City funds to influence election: DA lays complaint with the IEC 

8 July 2016

The DA has today laid a complaint with the IEC against incumbent Johannesburg Mayor and ANC Mayoral Candidate Parks Tau for abusing City funds to shamelessly advertise himself and the ANC. 

The basis of the complaint is a radio advertisement paid for by the City of Johannesburg claiming that Parks Tau is a great leader. It states an award he has been nominated for, and concludes by saying, “clearly the City of Johannesburg is in good hands”. This is clearly an excessive and gratuitous depiction of an office bearer of the City, and clearly creates a perception that the advertisement promotes the Mayor as an individual. 

This comes after the DA revealed earlier this week the Mayor Parks Tau’s administration has spent over R15 million on newspaper adverts in April, May and July 2016, all to promote the Mayor and his administration ahead of the local government elections. 

Other abuses of city funds are enormous billboards carrying pictures of Tau. The latest example is an enormous billboard on the M2 motorway, which has a picture of Tau accompanied by the words, “14 000 small companies supported through SMME hubs”. This billboard cost an estimated R20 000 to produce and an ongoing R40 000 per month to rent.

The irony is that in the hands of Mayor Parks Tau millions of Rands, which could have been spent on  job creation and service delivery, have instead been spent on promoting Tau and financing the ANC’s desperate attempt to cling on to power. 

Mayor Tau is all about style over substance. He tries to paint a picture of a prosperous city, using catch phrases such as “Johannesburg’s new economic democracy”. However, the facts speak for themselves. Unemployment has risen from 27% to 31% over his term in office. In fact, there are 180 000 more unemployed people in Johannesburg today than there were in 2011.

If I am elected mayor, money such as this will be spent on ensuring that jobs are created, and better services are delivered.

A complaint was laid with the Public Protector earlier this week as the spending amounts to an unjustifiable exercise of power under the Public Protectors Act.

The abuse of funds also amounts to “abuse [of] a position of power… to influence the conduct or outcome of an election”. It is thus a flagrant violation of paragraph 9(2) of the Electoral Code of Conduct. 

For this reason, my colleague, James Selfe MP, addressed a letter to the ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe demanding that the ANC call Mayor Tau to heel. However, Mantahse did not respond to this letter, showing clearly that the ANC tacitly endorses Mayor Tau’s conduct and that it has no intention to ensure its members comply with the Code of Conduct. 

We have thus called on the IEC to:

- Instruct Mayor Tau and the ANC to stop contravening the Code immediately, specifically by desisting with gratuitous and excessive advertising, using public funds to promote himself and the ANC whom he represents;

- If necessary, to approach the Electoral Court to enforce the Code against Mayor Tau and the ANC, as the CEO of the IEC is empowered and in fact, duty bound to do under section 77 of the Municipal Electoral Act. 

It is clear that both Mayor Tau and the ANC must be reminded that, even when faced with losing control of the City to the DA, they are not beyond the law. It falls to the IEC to ensure the freedom and fairness of the 2016 elections are preserved by holding Mayor Tau and the ANC to the Electoral Code of Conduct. 

Regardless of the ANC’s desperate and unlawful attempts to influence the elections, the people of Johannesburg will not be fooled. 

The ANC knows it has lost the trust of the people after 22 years of broken promises. 

On 3 August vote for a clean government that puts the people of this city first.

Vote for change that will move Johannesburg forward.

Issued by Nkele Molapo, Media Officer, 8 July 2016