RESPONSE TO POLITICAL FLIGHT OF FANCY BY TONY EHRENREICH

January 26 2012

Firstly, I must deny the allegation by Tony Ehrenreich (see here).

I can also confirm that as of 15.03 today (Thu), the Speaker's Office had no record of such a complaint by Mr. Ehrenreich which demonstrates that the real intention here is to slander me and attempt to place himself centre-stage of some media attention.

I did approach Mr. Ehrenreich in the Council Chamber yesterday (Wed) after he had made a statement which was inaccurate.  He had claimed that I had failed as Mayco Member for Safety and Security by referring to the recent media coverage of organised crime activity in the City, suggesting that as Mayoral Committee Member I was in a position to stop this.

While standing over a meter away from him, I pointed out to him that he was aware of the fact that the investigative and criminal justice systems were beyond the authority of local government and that the failure to deal with organised crime over a long time was firmly in the hands of his ANC political colleagues in national government.  I have previously taken up the consistent dishonesty of Mr. Ehrenreich with him on previous occasions as I often find him to be making statements that he knows to be untrue.

I also asked him if he had actually read the articles to which he was referring and which surely he must have read to be making such statements and if he knew that the article by Carryn Dolley directly contradicted him (see article below).  I informed him that the article quoted Igor Russol with alleged linkages to the Russian Mafia as saying that: "Constant raids and operations led by the city's Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, have driven many strip clubs in the city centre out of business."  Mr. Russol then goes on to elaborate on the various criminal and organised crime dealings of the strip clubs.

I decided to take issue with Mr. Ehrenreich as a leadership figure in COSATU and the ANC as I expect somebody at that level to be truthful and to only disseminate accurate information.  I do not mind being criticised, but I expect it to be based on facts and I find that he regularly quotes political misinformation and falsehoods during debates and meetings which he must know to be untrue.  This has caused me to lose all respect for a man that I used to hold in a degree of esteem until I got to know him better through his term to date in the City Council.

The two paragraphs of misleading political posturing and misinformation (which has no relevance to me or his allegation and which makes up 60% of this letter) exposes the primary purpose of his letter: political point scoring.

I too am outraged and saddened that I should have to waste time responding to such wasteful petty politics.  After yesterday's exchange of words and this trumped up slander of today, I do not need to waste more time wondering, as I have recently, if he believed the misinformation he was repeating or whether he was simply malicious and dishonest enough to be willing to make any statement he thought would serve his purposes.

It is devastating to service delivery when people committed to improving the lot of residents of Cape Town have their time wasted by this style of political games.  While Mr. Ehrenreich was busy fabricating this story, I was doing a two-hour on site inspection in Langa to address safety concerns of residents who were experiencing muggings and ATM fraud around the business centre.  I will not allow him to distract me from the priorities of my directorate and the needs of residents out there.

I once heard Helen Zille say: "As jy agter die deur staan dan soek jy ander daar", which means roughly that you imagine other people to be thinking of the same wrongdoing that is on your own mind.  I have never even considered "setting someone up" and would not know what to do to achieve this.  This is quite different from the cloak-and-dagger and chequebook-political games we have seen the ANC play over the last 6 years in the City of Cape Town in its ongoing attempts to gain illegitimate control of the City as they did in 2003 through the floor crossing debacle.

Mr. Ehrenreich's allegations probably tell you a great deal more about him than it does about me.

Alderman JP Smith

Member of Mayoral Committee: Safety & Security (incl. Metro Police, Traffic, Law Enforcement, Fire and Emergency Rescue Services, Disaster Risk Management and the Public Emergency Call Centre)

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