Zille to blame for Oudtshoorn chaos 

The DA has once again betrayed the public trust by spreading lies and its national leader Helen Zille runs away from taking responsibility to clean up the mess created by her and her party. This is especially pertinent in the case of Oudtshoorn municipality where the DA's deception has unmasked Helen Zille's party as power-hungry and cheating in order to steal what it cannot obtain democratically.

The DA again suffered at its own hands on Friday when it abandoned its own motions of no confidence in the elected office-bearers of the council (mayor, deputy mayor and speaker) and walked out without even voting on anything.

The DA's blue circus tent seems to be stationed in Oudtshoorn where a comedy of errors has been exposed in the Western Cape High Court since an illegal power grab on 31 May 2013. This attempt had been nullified together with other illicit decisions such as the payment of the legal cost in excess of R4 million of councillor Pierre Nel who lost three cases against the council up to the supreme court of appeal.

Friday's botched coup is another failed attempt as the DA lurches from crisis to chaos. 

ANC spokesperson on local government Pierre Uys says: "Zille and the DA's tentacles are unduly extended into Oudtshoorn where her office and department illegally interferes in another sphere of government's authority and competencies. 

"Like in the case of the multimillion Rand communication contract with TBWA Hunt Lascaris the improper deployment of DA cadres and maladministration (as found by the public protector) is again rife. The DA's dishonest deployment of Zille's legal advisor Koos Celliers and other officials to actively destabilise, interfere and undermine the Oudtshoorn municipality by party political instruction of the DA is totally unacceptable. It is also a gross abuse of Western Cape provincial government's state resources.

"The role of her MEC's Theuns Botha (who manipulated the coup), Anton Bredell (who also claimed the interference in Overberg district municipality was legal but the High Court found it to be unconstitutional) and Alan Winde (who was part of the plot that produced a failed budget process) is highly questionable. Zille gave them free reign to continue without calling them to order.

"The result of this clumsy mischief by the DA exploded in the faces of Zille and all those footmen she sent in to deceive people, buy-over five ANC councillors and through gamesmanship steal control of the council.

"The facetious DA charge at SAPS against the ANC in order to detract attention from the DA embarrassment is frivolous and vexatious. There is no substance in that charge that an order of the High Court was disregarded to have the special council meeting on Friday. The meeting was called, all came, they were part of the proceedings but the DA walked out without voting or even putting their view across on their own motion. Speaker John Stoffels did his job, applied his mind and exercised duties as set out in law. It is the DA that undermines and frustrates itself. It is the DA that drags Oudtshoorn to the gutters by torpedoing its own proposals to council!" 

Some of the DA's lies are that it has the majority in the council (while it is assisted in its illegal actions by Cope), that the speaker is ANC (he is NPP) and that it is prevented from taking over.

The DA prevented itself from taking control by its illegal actions and ill-advised trickeries. If anybody prevents a take-over it is the DA that employs all sorts of desperate actions to not handover control to the ANC after it lost a by-election and the Nama Khoi municipality in Springbok. Another example of DA destabilising is seen in Tlokwe (Potchefstroom).

"It is clear the DA bogged itself down in a few municipalities (including Swellendam) where it digs deeper into the mud instead of doing the right thing. What the DA did in Oudtshoorn was not only illegal and technically not right, it is also completely wrong. It tries to promote itself by creating an emergency to portray itself as a false saviour.

"The ANC allow illegal actions and the people of Oudtshoorn to be bullied and forced to pay for the mistakes of individuals. The DA has thrown Oudtshoorn and its people to the dogs.

"The DA has to deal with the majority of its councillors that are allegedly involved in illegal and even in some cases corruptive actions. Serious claims have been made against Wessie van der Westhuizen (including fraud), Chris MacPherson and Jurie Harmse. 

"Helen Zille must march her band back from the bar (where some of this nonsense was concocted and orchestrated) to the boardroom where the democratic process is legally conducted. They cannot run cowardly away from taking part in council when they tell the world they are in control. It is defeatist.

"Zille must take over the mess of Theuns Botha (the deputy provincial DA leader) and clean it up. She must acknowledge it is the DA that undermines Oudtshoorn and not the ANC. The ANC is not responsible for what when wrong in the DA's flimsy plans. It is the DA that frustrates Oudtshoorn's municipality - as is proven when it blocked the budget from being approved.

"Zille seems incapable of doing this to restore good governance. The ANC will call on national government (department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs) to intervene with measures - like in Swellendam - to calm the situation and assist the municipality to proceed with its work. An investigation should also be conducted to fully determine the interference of the Western Cape provincial government and breaches of cooperative governance or violations of intergovernmental relations took place," Uys added.

Statement issued by ANC Western Cape Chief Whip Pierre Uys, September 22 2013

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