The African National Congress (ANC) in the Western Cape has accused the Independent Democrats (ID) of attempting to lure ANC councillors to cross the floor with job offers.
ANC provincial secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha told a media briefing on Thursday the ANC was in possession of a letter in this regard, signed by ID provincial chairperson Sakkie Jenner.
”The letter is addressed to [Drakenstein] ANC councillor Claudillo du Plessis and offers him the post of executive mayor of the municipality if he crosses to the ID.
”He has rejected the offer and brought the letter to the ANC,” Skwatsha said.
The ANC did not want to get into a mud-slinging match with other parties regarding allegations of ”cheque-book politics”.
However, the ANC offered the letter as proof of ”what we have known for sometime, namely that the ID is actively approaching ANC councillors with offers of executive positions in return for crossing the floor”.
Skwatsha called on the ID and its leadership to condemn this practice and call its [provincial] chairperson to account for his behaviour.
Responding in a statement later, Jenner — who was sworn in as an MP in the National Assembly on Thursday — said the ID had answered the call of the people of Drakenstein to do everything it could to take power back from the ANC.
The ID had spent last weekend trying to ”calm the people of Drakenstein down”.
”They were threatening violence against the councillors who betrayed their votes and were bought over by the ANC.
”Fortunately, we were able to get the community to adhere to ID discipline and they agreed to wait until 2009 [the next election].
”However, in the meantime I have decided to take Skwatsha on at his own game.
”Now we are fighting fire with fire and we will continue to do so until midnight on the last day of floor-crossing [Saturday, September 15].
”The people of Drakenstein have given us their mandate and we will do our best to take power back,” Jenner said. — Sapa