Parks Tau: How do you sleep at night?

9 July 2016

Note to editors: The following comments were made by Herman Mashaba following the IEC seminar on free and fair elections and signing of the electoral Code of Conduct held at the Apartheid Museum, Johannesburg, this morning.

Today, as the DA’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, I am proud to commit myself to running a fair campaign.

Since we started campaigning on 12 March 2016, we have crisscrossed this great City offering a message of hope for every resident.

We have run a clean and positive campaign, and that is how we intend to continue. 

So, when I sign this Code of Conduct, I mean it.

“We the undersigned parties hereby undertake to uphold the electoral code of conduct as described in the Local Government Legislation: Municipal Electoral Act 27 of 2000.”

It is unfortunate that some amongst us signed this Code today, but they don’t really mean it.

When you sign this Code you must commit to it not just in word, but also in deed.

Parks Tau stood up here today and pledged his allegiance to the Code.

At the same time, his administration has spent millions of rands promoting his campaign with billboards and adverts that cast Mr Tau and the ANC in a positive light.  

This is an abuse of public money that should be spent on service delivery for the people of Johannesburg. 

Mr Tau: How do you sleep at night knowing that money for service delivery is being used for your propaganda? 

And how can you sign this Code of Conduct with a straight face? 

The Code of Conduct states that: 

“no person may) abuse a position of power, privilege or influence, including parental, patriarchal, traditional or employment authority to influence the conduct or outcome of an election”.

By spending public money on party political propaganda, Mr Tau is abusing his position in an attempt to influence the outcome of this election.

This is why we have laid a complaint with the IEC, and we hope that they will treat it with the seriousness it deserves.

In the meantime, we trust that the public will see through Mr Tau’s hypocrisy, and will punish him at the polls for abusing their money.

Issued by the DA, 9 July 2016