The African National Congress in the Western Cape on Wednesday condemned overtures allegedly made to disgraced former party members, Truman Prince and Jeffrey Donson, by the Democratic Alliance.
”The ANC removed both Donson and Prince because they were an embarrassment to the ANC and the councils they lead. The DA is rescuing them from the gutter and will be smeared with their filth,” Max Ozinsky, the ANC’s provincial deputy secretary said in a statement.
Prince, an Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa (Icosa) councillor in the Beaufort West municipality, was removed as municipal manager of the Central Karoo District municipality by the ANC after he paid himself a performance bonus of nearly R50 000.
The ANC removed Donson from the position of mayor in the Kannaland municipality after a provincial commission of inquiry found he had ignored municipal legislation in the sale of a game farm and used municipal funds for his own purposes.
Donson is also an Icosa councillor in Kannaland.
Ozinsky said it was interesting to note that the same DA that called for the removal of both Prince and Donson from public office was now willing to work with them.
Ozinsky said the DA had teamed up with Icosa in Kannaland when they voted for a municipal manager who was not suitably qualified, as well as forcing an urgent council meeting, scheduled for Thursday, to reconstitute the council.
”When we decided to work with the DA to keep Icosa out in municipalities where we had no other choice, we were convinced that it was because both parties were committed to stable and clean governance. The latest happenings are a clear indication that the DA is more interested in power, no matter the price or the cost,” Ozinsky concluded.
Meanwhile, the DA’s Western Cape leader, Theuns Botha, said the Kannaland council was currently co-governed by the ANC with four seats, the DA and Icosa with two each and Independent Democrats with one seat.
He said the municipality had an acting manager. The majority of council members recently voted to appoint a short-listed candidate for the municipal manager position.
The ANC wanted another candidate and its mayor refused to give effect to the resolution.
The ID and Icosa then instituted a vote of no confidence in the mayor, Magdalena Barry, which the DA supported.
Botha said the ANC’s provincial secretary, Mcebisi Skwatsha, called him last week asking that the DA retract its support of the vote of no confidence.
”I agreed to this on condition that the original preferred candidate is appointed as municipal manager. Skwatsha agreed to this,” said Botha.
He said the ANC then instituted a vote of no confidence in the DA deputy mayor and DA speaker, without explanation.
”Mr Skwatsha has dishonoured our agreement and has shown that he has no commitment to service delivery but only to his own political interests … The DA wished to honour our agreement with the ANC but unfortunately Mr Skwatsha has proven to be unreliable, dishonest and untrustworthy, leaving us with no other choice but to take control of the council,” said Botha in a statement.
He said in the interests of stable governance and improved service delivery in Kannaland the DA could no longer work with a ”political scoundrel” like Skwatsha. — Sapa