The Independent Democrats has still not made a decision on the Democratic Alliance offer of a share in the government of the city of Cape Town, ID spokesperson Mervyn Cirota said on Tuesday night.
He said ID and DA negotiators met on Monday, and on Tuesday reported back to their principals on ”issues”.
”We should have some answer for you at 10am tomorrow [Wednesday] morning,” he said. ”We are still busy with it.”
DA spokesperson Ryan Coetzee said: ”We obviously are in discussion with them. We’re waiting for them to come back to us, which will be tomorrow.”
He said the two sides’ negotiators did not meet on Tuesday, but there had been contact by telephone.
The city’s newly-elected DA mayor Helen Zille wants to name her executive committee by Thursday. The committee can consist of up to ten members, excluding the mayor and her deputy.
The DA offer was made despite the ID’s backing of the African National Congress in last week’s mayoral election, which Zille won by a three-vote margin thanks to the support of the African Christian Democratic Party and other smaller parties.
Zille announced on Tuesday she would ensure VIP protection for city councillors who had been threatened or intimidated for not supporting the ANC in last week’s vote.
She had asked city police chief Bongani Jonas to immediately restore to the council’s support division control of its VIP protection unit — which presently falls under the police department.
”Councillors facing intimidation will be afforded the VIP protection to which they are entitled under law. It is not clear why the unit was removed from council support by former mayor [Nomaindia] Mfeketo just days before the election,” she said.
It had come to her attention that certain councillors had been threatened and intimidated for their decision not to support the ANC.
”Intimidation, which amounts to political thuggery, is a serious threat to our democracy,” she said.
Zille also said she had instructed city manager Wallace Mgoqi to immediately freeze any conversions of council contract posts to permanent positions, pending an audit.
”We need to be sure that any posts that are made permanent are for valid reasons, not attempts to secure positions as rewards to ANC loyalists at taxpayers’ expense.” – Sapa