/ 28 August 2007

Floor-crossing fever hits Cape Town politics

A Cape Town city councillor on Monday lost a high court bid to keep his Independent Democrats (ID) seat as floor-crossing fever hotted up in the city.

David Sassman was expelled from the ID for secretly negotiating with other political parties. The ID is expected to fill his seat with a party loyalist ahead of the floor-crossing window, which opens on Saturday.

Cape Town mayor and Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille was scheduled to meet her ID counterpart, Patricia de Lille, on Tuesday afternoon to discuss floor-crossing.

De Lille said on Monday afternoon that the ID joined the multiparty government to ”save the city” after a series of coup attempts against Zille. ”I think we need to get together again to ensure that the city doesn’t fall … to put our heads together and exchange notes about this crossing of the floor,” she said.

De Lille is also expected to raise ID concerns at what it says are DA overtures to its councillors. She met the party’s city caucus on Monday to ”update them” ahead of the window.

The party said in a statement that it had instructed its provincial leadership that the party would not be working with controversial African Muslim Party councillor Badih Chaaban after the walkover. The DA had adopted the same position.

Chaaban is widely reported to be plotting the downfall of Zille’s DA-led administration.

Last week, the city speaker released findings of an investigation that alleged that Chaaban had offered ID and DA councillors cash and posts in exchange for jumping ship.

The ID said in Monday’s statement that if any of its councillors had signed an agreement with Chaaban and now regretted it, it was not too late to turn back.

”The ID has extended an olive branch of amnesty to any of its members who are in this predicament and is willing to give a written undertaking that they will not be disciplined or victimised by the party should they come forward to receive amnesty.

”The ID is also prepared to assist where a councillor may have received a cash loan from Chaaban,” it said. — Sapa