On Saturday 2 April, the TAC released a statement adapted from articles by Nathan Geffen (TAC's treasurer) and Gavin Silber (SJC Co-ordinator) in which they pointed out a misrepresentation in the DA's booklet The Cape Town Story and the DA's accompanying press statement.
The DA made two statements:
1. "The DA has improved public healthcare, cutting the infant mortality rate from 25.2 in 2003 to 20.8 in 2009 ... " (Press statement with release of the Cape Town Story)
2. "The City's Infant Mortality Rate improved from 25.2 in 2003 to 20.8 in 2009, in a context where the national rate has declined (to about 50)." (Direct from the Cape Town Story)
The DA therefore claims it is responsible for the decline in infant mortality from 25.2 per 1,000 in 2003 to 20.8 in 2009. The DA only came to power in April 2006. So any consideration of the infant mortality rate under the DA really has to look at the period 2006 to 2009. Geffen and Silber pointed out that the infant mortality rate in Cape Town was 21 per 1,000 in 2006 and 21 in 2009. This contradicts the DA claim it is responsible for the drop in infant mortality.
In response the DA's spokesperson Gareth van Onselen has stated, "The TAC has deliberately misrepresented the facts. It needs to retract its statement and apologise to the DA for trying to manipulate evidence, no doubt in order to further the ANC's agenda. The City of Cape Town has a proud track record of delivering to all citizens, especially the poor. The IMR is a good example of this commitment. The DA stated in the Cape Town Story it had reduced the infant morality rate in Cape Town, since coming to power. That statement is absolutely true: In 2005 the IMR was 22.28, in 2009 it was 20.76."