Unholy alliance not good for Oudtshoorn

2 July 2015

The Western Cape ANC says the DA has no principle or policy left as it again showed it will do anything to grab power; like its latest antics to jump into bed with Budih Chabaan of the NPP in Oudtshoorn.

The DA bought over five ANC councillors more than a year ago and tried to grab power at an illegal council meeting (as was found by the Western Cape High Court) which plunged the council into an impasse and now it bought Chabaan over too.

Western Cape ANC secretary Faiez Jacobs says: “The ANC is disgusted by the DA’s underhandedness as it broke its word on a deal put together by national Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs minister Pravin Gordhan to support the municipality and restore good governance. It is ironic that the DA jumps into the bed with Chabaan as it is the very same DA that vilified him, portrayed him as a gangster, paid spies to record him in his own bedroom and demonised Chabaan. Now, all of a sudden, they gang up and Chabaan is again deemed good enough to assist the power-hungry DA to regain its grip on Oudtshoorn.

“It is clear the DA did not have the interests of the residents and poor people of Oudtshoorn at heart as it negotiated in bad faith to revitalise that town and its council, as well as deal with the challenges the municipality faces. But, the DA in secret entered into a partnership with Chabaan purely to control Oudtshoorn. The DA annulled the undertakings it gave to work towards bringing change for the better of these vulnerable people. It is political opportunism of the lowest order by the DA and will not help the Little Karoo town.

“Oudtshoorn and its ratepayers will have to cough up to finance a cooked up budget. This might even include paying the legal costs of individual DA representatives who in the past illegally tried to get the ratepayers to foot the account. What is it that the desperate DA so anxiously wants to cover up that it repeated buys over politicians to control Oudtshoorn? The DA cannot be trusted to act in the best wellbeing of the residents. The ANC will continue to play a rigorous opposition role and keep the DA in this town on its toes, expose its corruptive actions and its uncaring character.”

Statement issued by ANC Western Cape Provincial Secretary Faiez Jacobs, July 2 2015