Cape Town - The ANC says the entire DA leadership in the City of Cape Town should be in the dock.
This after the City held a special council meeting in which it tabled a report that implicated a senior City official in the collapse of waste collection in Cape Town townships.
The report, leaked to the Cape Argus, stated that the formation of a new “in-house” waste collection model was undertaken with no delegated authority by the official and his principal.
It is alleged that this model led to waste not being collected in some townships. The model also resulted in high court action against the municipality.
ANC caucus leader Banele Majingo called a press briefing after the Special Council Meeting, which was closed to the public, to address some of the contents of the report.
“The report we have considered today and its findings and recommendations are the tip of the iceberg. It’s a manifestation of a deeper systemic problem.
“Not long ago, the DA was embroiled in a MyCiTi bus scandal. Quickly after that, there was a collusion with private developers where the DA sold public land for peanuts.
“Then there was fraud, corruption, and collusion in the housing directorate, where more than five officials had to resign and others were fired. Now we have this scandal in refuse collection. The DA is a party in crisis,” said Majingo.
He said “Section 76 of the Municipal Systems Act is clear on mechanisms for provision of services; therefore, it cannot be one or two individuals who were involved. The entire DA leadership in the City of Cape Town should be in the dock”.
“These are the hallmarks of DA misgovernance, corruption, fraud, and service delivery ineptitude.
“Waste remains uncollected across communities because of DA negligence in poor communities. Our people are plunged into squalid living conditions that present a health hazard.
“If you go to Langa now in Zone 20, people are literally living on raw sewage. They have been in that situation for a very long time, but the City claims to be a caring city,” said Majingo.
He said the DA is failing township communities and that it does not engage and treat township communities as first-class citizens who have rights to health and sanitation.
“This is a recurring problem in the townships because there is no commitment from the DA in the City of Cape Town to budget accordingly and in line with the population numbers of the township communities.”
Majingo said the ANC is calling upon the provincial government and national government “to institute an independent investigation to get to the bottom of the problems of failing service delivery, corruption, and malfeasance”.
DA Chief Whip, Desiree Visagie, said the report that was presented before the special council meeting today (Monday) is confidential, and in terms of the Council Code of Conduct, it is important to respect and adhere to the Speaker of Council's ruling on the matter.
“Therefore, I will not be commenting on the contents of the confidential report,” said Visagie.