Guilty as charged, Mr Fransman: The DA does provide the best free services to poor communities

17 September 2015

The DA pleads guilty as charged to ANC Western Cape Leader Marius Fransman’s accusation that the City of Cape Town, under DA governance, provides the most extensive and most generous free services to poor communities (see TimesLive report).

The City of Cape Town spends 67% of its budget on services to and upliftment of poor communities.

Cape Town delivers the most generous basket of free basic service of any municipality in South Africa. This is reliant on extensive cross subsidization of such services by ratepayers. It is the long term financial sustainably of this approach that was queried by national treasury, nothing more. The fact that the ANC cannot understand this simple fact shows that they do not understand how local govenment works.

Cape Town has just been awarded a clean audit building on excellent unqualified audits for the past 11 years, meaning Cape Town spends its money transparently and efficiently to maximize benefits to residents.

Try as he might, Marius Fransman cannot manufacture a scandal out of a DA government delivering generously to poor communities. It is no doubt of much shame and embarrassment to Mr. Fransman that it is a DA government which is the leader in South Africa at caring for the poor.

The DA wants to bring more and more free services to more South Africans who are struggling to get ahead, in more municipalities after Election 2016.

With a vote for the DA, people can bring more free basic services to their communities and municipalities too in places like Nelson Mandela Bay and Tshwane.

The DA is set on winning more municipalities in Election 2016, and the DA will deliver services, deliver clean government, and deliver opportunities for all.

Statement issued by Phumzile Van Damme MP, DA National Spokesperson, September 17 2015