COSATU OPEN LETTER TO PUBLIC PROTECTOR

12 July 2013

Office of the Public Protector
Private Bag X677
Pretoria
0001

Attention: Advocate Thuli Madonsela

Complaint of Governance issues in the Western Cape

COSATU has filed a complaint with the Public Protector, against what it calls "botoxing of the truth for public relations", by the DA. COSATU had requested a meeting with the Provincial Government to address the crisis of murders in the Cape Flats working class communities as a matter of urgency. COSATU has threatened to go on strike if the Provincial Government of the Western Cape does not address this issue as a crisis, with the requisite urgency. And, instead of responding to the crisis in our communities, the DA gives smoke and mirrors.

The DA has not focused on the crisis of the Township murders at all, other than to play politics about the control of the Police services. This is tantamount to playing politics with the lives of our people who are under siege by gangsters in the townships. As COSATU we have said that this is not simply a policing matter. We have to unite the entire communities and organisations so we can have a coherent response to the crisis, in the most urgent manner. Innocent woman and children are being killed and wounded on a daily basis.

The DA response to COSATU's request is to try and deflect the focus from the crisis in the townships to some issues of whether or not the COSATU is dishonest or grandstanding. COSATU calls on the Public Protector to get the focus of Governance back on the needs of the people's most pressing issues.

We accordingly make the following request to the Public Protector:

• To investigate and determine on whether the Provincial Government unnecessarily botoxes the facts for the media;
• To investigate and determine whether the institution for social dialogue set up by the Provincial Government, complies with International and National precedent, or whether it is a Bantustan model of limited representation in respect of the Constitutional obligations of a limited representation.
• To investigate and determine whether the Provincial Government is giving the requisite attention to the most urgent problems and whether they are intervening in a manner that will address the problems; or; whether the focus is to score political points at the cost of the W Cape Communities' lives.
• To find on whether the Premier's style of refusing to integrate black and white communities and facilities is what is leading to the deepening levels of strive in the communities and the desperate outbursts we have seen.

We would further request the Public Protector to make an advisory recommendation on how to improve governance and social interface in the W Cape, given the inability of Government in W Cape to grasp democratic principles.

We would be happy to provide additional information to the investigating team on the neglect and disregard of the Premier and the DA administration.

Yours Faithfully

Tony Ehrenreich

PROVINCIAL SECRETARY

Issued by COSATU Western Cape, July 12 2013

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