No image available
/ 9 November 2007
Cape Town mayor Helen Zille has named a replacement advocate to conduct an official probe into the city’s spy affair. The first person she chose for the job, advocate Geoff Budlender, withdrew over a possible conflict of interest. Zille has now asked advocate Josie Jordaan of the Cape Bar to lead the inquiry.
No image available
/ 2 November 2007
There will be no cover-up in the alleged spy scandal involving the surveillance of Cape Town councillors, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille vowed on Friday. ”Let me be clear. There will be no cover-up in this matter. If anyone in the city or the DA has broken any law, the police must lay a charge and we will deal with it head-on,” she said.
No image available
/ 30 October 2007
A senior Cape Town advocate, Geoff Budlender, is to head the inquiry into the City of Cape Town’s ”spy” affair. The appointment was announced on Tuesday afternoon by mayor Helen Zille, who said she was taking out full-page advertisements in three local newspapers to explain her position on the matter.
No image available
/ 27 October 2007
New evidence in the Cape Town spy saga details secret meetings involving city-funded spies and wire-tapping, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported on Friday. This was before the city council entered into a binding contract with private investigators George Fivaz and Associates.
No image available
/ 26 October 2007
Cape Town mayor Helen Zille on Friday released the terms of reference of an investigation into claims that the city footed a Democratic Alliance bill for a probe into controversial councillor Badhi Chaaban. The inquiry is to be headed by a retired judge or senior advocate, who has yet to be named.
No image available
/ 24 October 2007
A city-commissioned probe into the activities of controversial councillor Badhi Chaaban was completely legitimate, Cape Town mayor Helen Zille said on Wednesday. However, she promised she would ask an outsider with ”impeccable credentials”, such as a retired judge or senior advocate, to establish whether council funds were misused.
No image available
/ 19 October 2007
A disciplinary committee of the Cape Town city council has recommended that controversial councillor Badhi Chaaban be removed from office. The disciplinary hearings — which Chaaban claimed were a kangaroo court — followed claims that he sought to bribe councillors to cross the floor to his National People’s Party.
No image available
/ 10 September 2007
Cape Town city councillor Badhi Chaaban said on Monday he is a member of both the African Muslim Party (AMP) and the newly formed National People’s Party (NPP), as both allow dual membership. But he has asked the AMP leadership for permission to formally cross to the NPP, taking his council seat with him.
No image available
/ 7 September 2007
One of the Cape Town councillors embroiled in the city’s floor-crossing battle said on Friday she did not know what party she belonged to any more. Georgina Sass was one of five Independent Democrats members that the newly formed National People’s Party claimed on Thursday had defected to it.
No image available
/ 6 September 2007
Former leader of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Juan Uys has thrown his weight behind the newly created National People’s Party (NPP). He said on Thursday that he had also taken up a post as personal assistant to controversial Cape Town city councillor Badhi Chaaban. He said that the NPP appointed him as its media liaison officer this week.
No image available
/ 2 September 2007
Uncertainty over the future of Cape Town’s coalition government continued on Sunday as the newly formed National People’s Party claimed to have secured the allegiance of 10 councillors. The coalition, led by the Democratic Alliance, holds power by a majority of 20 in the 210-seat council.
President Thabo Mbeki and Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille met in Cape Town on Tuesday to discuss a range of current issues. These included crime, skills shortages, floor-crossing and the dismissal of former deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge.
Cape Town mayor Helen Zille and Independent Democrats (ID) leader Patricia de Lille put up a united front on Tuesday against the floor-crossing onslaught of controversial city councillor Badhi Chaaban. Chaaban is facing a disciplinary inquiry over claims that he offered ID and Democratic Alliance councillors cash and positions to join his yet-to-be-formed party.