De Lille as the Mayoral candidate of the DA
26 January 2016
The DA’s announcement that De Lille will be their Mayoral candidate confirms that the mainly white and rich in the City will have their champion in office, should the DA win the elections. This just confirms that the DA white old guard are happy that De Lille has done their bidding to their satisfaction.
This mayor has shown herself to be the champion of the wealthy old white communities who want to keep the legacy of apartheid alive in Cape Town. This Mayor has sneaked off to meet white developers in Camps Bay, whilst she ignores the needs of the poor on the Cape Flats. This mayor has also kept the old Apartheid divisions alive by not doing anything to promote integration in the old white areas.
This Mayor has also defended racists in the City as can be seen by her paper campaign against racism, while the arch racist like Pienaar are given leadership by her in the Council. This Mayor has been the poster child for the preservation of the generational advantages and divisions of Apartheid, whilst parading some struggle credentials.
The reality is that this Mayor after presiding over a 1% Independent Democrats, has sold her soul for her political survival in the DA. De Lille is much like the hired gun Mamphela that the DA wanted to buy, the only difference is that Mamphela did not want the old white guard to remote control her.
The mismanagement of public funds like the R28 million Cape Town Cup soccer match will continue under De Lille. We will see another 5 years of neglecting of the Cape Flats while the Mayor sips tea in Camps Bay, as the City becomes more unequal and divided, as the racist tighten their grip on the City under the DA.
The DA racists have effectively used one of the oppressed to champion their cause of white ownership and control in Cape Town, while creating the impression of delivery to the poor African and Coloured communities. They had to buy a black leader, as they do not trust the local blacks in the DA to give up on the desires of the poor constituencies they represent on the Cape Flats. Equality, fairness and social justice will be completely removed from the social agenda in Cape Town as Mayor De Lille rules for the wealthy in the shadows of Table Mountain.
There will be more dead bodies on the Cape Flats as the City colludes with gangsters. There will be less busses on the Cape Flats of Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha , while they have more than enough busses in Milnerton and Blaauwberg. There will be no services for backyarders as the City delay things with pilot projects and studies that are only gimmicks.
There will be more racism as conservative whites, endorsed by De Lille, think that they own this part of the world and impose their racist agenda. There will be a loss of hope in the future and the prospects for kids from the Cape Flats as people continue to be subordinated to white attitudes and racism. The City of the Cape Flats will grow further apart from the City of the Shadows of Table Mountain and the West Coast, the ‘Tale of 2 Cities’ will deepen. This is the legacy and the future of De Lille.
COSATU is concerned that a person who has been responsible for the hardship of workers and working families over the last 5 years, still has the audacity to want to lead this City.
Statement issued by Tony Ehrenreich, COSATU Western Cape Provincial Secretary, 26 January 2016
