Peace appears to be about to break out over the troubled N2 Gateway housing project. The Premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille, and Minister for Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale met in the minister’s office in Parliament on Friday to try to hammer out a settlement of their own.
Zille uncompromisingly told Sexwale that the African National Congress (ANC) government in the Western Cape acted illegally in transferring land to the national government immediately before the April general election, in which the ANC lost power in the province to her Democratic Alliance. She produced a legal opinion to back up her contention
Sexwale told a joint media briefing after their meeting that he will move quickly to try to resolve the issue — including getting his own legal opinion — and that on Tuesday next week he will have a meeting with his top officials to decide a way forward, and will present a recommendation to Cabinet on Wednesday.
”I will apply my mind to the issues raised,” Sexwale said. ”I will do that as speedily as possible.”
Both he and Zille agreed that they want to avoid an intractable legal position that will benefit no one and will harm phase two of the project.
”Service delivery must not be delayed,” he said.
Zille told the press conference that she undertakes to move as quickly as possible to plan and build the desperately needed houses once the obstacle to progress is removed.
She spoke of her relief that the hostility between her government and party and the national government appears to have dissipated.
”The last time I raised the illegality of what has been going on on the Gateway project,” she said, ”I was removed from the project.” — I-Net Bridge