Day Zero and Cape Town’s cacophony of chaos
DA leader Mmusi Maimane announced in Athlone on Wednesday that he had set up a Drought Crisis Team. His response to the water shortage, like that of Mayor Patricia de Lille, Deputy Mayor Ian Neilson and Premier Helen Zille, is muddled and will leave the people of Cape Town with no confidence in the management of this crisis.
In the past week we have seen separate statements from Maimane, de Lille, Neilson and Zille. Each has given the impression they are in charge while others are messing about.
Now we have a new team, with the City’s response led by Neilson, supported by Mayco Member Xanthea Limberg. Maimane also said that Zille (leading the province’s response) and MECs Bonginkosi Madikizela and Anton Bredell will be on the team. A diagram shows Maimane heading the team.
He has left the Mayor out in the cold. He said: “As Leader of the DA, all DA governments are accountable to me through the federal executive. I am not fully satisfied with the way the City has responded to the drought crisis, its communication, in particular, has fallen short.”
Indeed, there are good arguments that the Mayor’s response to the drought has been incompetent and the City’s communication has been awful.