Engineering News

The African National Congress (ANC) in the Western Cape wants Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba to refuse embattled Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille's bid to replace R1.6-billion in lost revenue through a drought levy, given the allegations of corruption swirling around the council.

"They are using the drought crisis as a cash cow," said the leader of the opposition in the council, Xolani Sotashe, on Wednesday.

The party also wants a complete re-audit of the "clean audits" the City has trumpeted about in claims that it is the best-run city in South Africa, as well as for tenders to be re-examined.

It wants De Lille to be removed, based on what it considers to be "prima facie" evidence of corruption against her, but refuses to let her be the scapegoat in a scandal that it alleges goes much wider than her.

'Tenders and corruption'

"We know that the thirst for De Lille's blood has more to do with fighting over tenders instead of getting to the bottom of rampant corruption, irregular conduct and maladministration in the Democratic Alliance (DA) led City of Cape Town" said acting ANC Western Cape chairperson Khaya Magaxa at a press conference in Cape Town.

He said the party had been warning about alleged corruption in the City of Cape Town for years, but nobody would listen.

Since 2017 it had uncovered alleged irregular activities such as expenditure on De Lille's private security at her home.

He accused DA of ignoring corruption, and now using the city's severe drought and water crisis as a "political football" to get rid of De Lille.

It also wants the Deputy Mayor Ian Neilson, who is the finance committee chair, to be among those investigated, and for criminal charges to be instituted where corruption is found in any officials.

On Sunday, the DA's federal executive decided to institute formal Federal Legal Commission proceedings against De Lille for, among other things, bringing the party into disrepute and acting in a manner that was detrimental to internal co-operation in the party.