City follows due process despite ANC allegations and flouting of regulations
10 JANUARY 2015
Over the past week, we have witnessed how uncomfortable and unfamiliar the ANC leadership are when they experience a well-run government that adheres to legislation, policy and contractual obligations regardless of who it is dealing with. The ANC seemed to lose all sense of itself in confronting a government that asked it to play by the rules.
We can only imagine the kind of concessions, favours and special deals the ANC must get in other parts of the country given the tantrums they have thrown for not getting the same special treatment here.
Despite the ANC's hysterics, their inflated sense of entitlement and the unsurpassed pressure they have placed on City officials, we have at all times conducted ourselves respectfully and stuck to legislation, policy and the stadium-hiring contract we entered into with the ANC.
This is the professional conduct we pride ourselves on providing to all our clients and our residents. It is concerning that the ANC interprets good governance as a form of sabotage.
While the ANC has spent the week making accusations against the City and the DA instead of organising their event, let me assure our residents that this DA government was not concerned about the event and had no interest in trying to sabotage or undermine it.
We welcomed the business and use of our stadium and have worked hard to ensure that the usual high standards of service our residents and visitors are accustomed to will be experienced by the ANC and their delegates.
We are proud to say that the arrangements the City was contractually responsible for were executed to our usual high standards and all City officials are to be commended for their professional conduct.
However, earlier today, we were shocked to witness the ANC Minister of State Security instruct the SAPS VOC (Venue Operation Centre) controller to abandon the wristband access control system.
The access control system was in place to ensure the safety of those who attend the event and is a requirement of national legislation. That national legislation was enacted as a direct response to the tragic events in 2001 when more than 40 people were killed due to overcrowding and lack of control at the Ellis Park Stadium.
The ANC and SAPS must take responsibility for the safety of the event and the management of crowding and stadium capacity. And the SAPS need to explain why they received operational instructions from the minister responsible for state intelligence and not policing matters. Chapter 11 of the Constitution, which prescribes the powers of the SAPS, gives no such authority to the Minister of State Security. The order was irregular, dangerous and wrong.
Not satisfied with enjoying the 103rd birthday celebrations and events taking place in the stadium, ANC Deputy Secretary General Jesse Duarte was reported to have claimed during a television interview this morning that the City had objected to the event being too noisy. You can add that to the list of petty lies she told yesterday.
In Cape Town, the state does not exist for the sake of the ANC and its moods.
Statement issued by Brett Herron, Acting Executive Mayor, City of Cape Town, January 10 2015
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