Dear Mrs Helen Zille

You see, Madam Zille, you and a large section of the media have appointed the DA custodian of the country's political moral compass. A day doesn't pass by without you making statement s that paint everybody and everything associated with ANC as corrupt and incompetent. And everything you say is always accepted by the gullible media, and print media in particular, as gospel truth.

But a deeper look reveals that you have been weaving a web of deceit. It is unfortunate that while the media has willingly got into bed with the DA, most ordinary people have been blind-folded into a politically orgy full of lies and double standards.

I know you'll rush to dismiss this and even unleash the very same media to hunt me down, but I am okay with that. I am used to it. Anyway, let us see what is happening in Bitou.

To many people, anything written in newspapers is gospel truth. So, it was not surprising when in 2007 some people from Kwanokuthula protested against what was termed "ANC corruption" at the municipality. They had read this lie in the newspapers. And the newspapers had one source, the DA's Johan Brummer.

We questioned lack of professionalism by the journalist involved and we were accused of trying to muzzle the media. As Brummer was unable to submit any proof to the police for investigation whilst he was always in the newspapers alleging ‘proof' of corruption and making other related reckless statements, the Council instituted disciplinary action against him. He was found not fit to be a councillor by a respected senior advocate and the ANC-led Council asked your MEC for Local Government to remove him as a councillor. The request was refused and I know you needed his skills as a covert operative during apartheid days for your future use.

The lies were escalated and you personally got involved in the smear campaign against the ANC councillors in Bitou. You got your trophy when you went in a coalition with COPE to run Bitou after the recent elections. I remember COPE President, Mosiuoa Lekota, saying he preferred to work with your party because it delivers better services and is NOT corrupt.

Maybe Lekota should have asked the people of Bitou about the service delivery record of the ANC in Bitou. He would have been pleasantly surprised.  As for alleged corruption, I do accept that he would have read the same newspapers as the rest of us.

The DA/COPE coalition has been in power in Bitou for five months. We are still waiting for charges of corruption against ‘ANC councillors and officials' to be laid with the police. Your party called public meetings and promised people that soon ‘ANC people' would be jailed for corruption. We are still waiting but you can't expect us to wait forever. You should remember that it is a criminal offence to withhold information of corruption from the police. Go and lay charges now.

You will recall that the Auditor General gave the ANC-led Bitou unqualified audit for three successive years; and I am told that your deployee to Bitou is not happy that the fourth and final one is forthcoming. This achievement was obtained despite you consistently accusing the ANC to have institutionalised corruption in Bitou.

Simply, you implied that the Auditor General was either incompetent or colluding with the corrupt ANC. These lies were fed the people of Bitou and some believed you. Please tell the people of Bitou the difference between instruments used to assess your provincial government departments, ANC-run Bitou and any DA-run municipality. That way we will understand your insistence that there is corruption in Bitou despite the achievement of clean audit findings in the past years.

Unlike you, we have documentary proof of wrongdoing by the DA councillors since they got into power. These include questionable procurement; involvement of councillors in procurement; involvement of Thys Giliomee, a consultant sent by you to Bitou, in procurement; involvement of Gilomee in day to day running of municipality - his threats and intimidation of officials and removal of personal files from the municipal offices; involvement of Brummer's girlfriend in administration of the municipality; intimidation of officials seen to be in opposition of the DA.

You are challenged to publicly undertake to personally ensure protection of any official from intimidation or harassment, especially from Brummer and Giliomee, for reporting or cooperating with the police or public protector or unbiased media, if one still exists, on allegations of wrongdoing by the DA in Bitou.

Lastly, the DA vowed publicly in writing that the ratepayers will not pay a cent for the high court case that was initiated by Brummer and supported by both the DA and COPE coalition against the ANC councillors. The court has ruled in favour of the ANC councillors and Brummer has for all purposes declared unfit to be The Speaker of council.  I don't expect you remove him. After all he is a useful tool in your tangled web of deceit. But, can you tell the people of Bitou how the DA/COPE coalition is going to fund about R1.2m costs awarded against you?

Kenny Leluma

Kenny Leluma was political advisor to the former ANC executive mayor of Bitou

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