On 30th April the Council meeting was again filled with vicious charges. At one point Cllr Sotashe [ANC] accused the DA of sheltering murderers and Satanists. Vexed by this statement Cllr Belinda Walker [DA] demanded to know who the murderers and Satanists were? It was startling that other DA members did not protest as I know many of them worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Ismail.
Since DA led Council elders are committed to create a deceptive atmosphere of austerity, Councillors are receiving a minimum serving at the monthly Council lunch. Gone are the days of pudding and red velvet cupcakes. Even at some portfolio meetings, lunch is no more. While this may seem trivial, the duplicity is obvious when the city sponsors Michael Bubl’e and One Direction concerts to the tune of nearly R2 million. Simultaneously while the City is trying to do a deal on the Good Hope Centre, the city spends hundreds of millions of ratepayer’s money to sustain a massive loss making Stadium for which no-one is held liable. The negligible loss of the Good Hope Centre and the cost of some cup cakes are miniscule when equated to the regular long term Cape Town Stadium losses.
The double standards of the DA was recently highlighted when the city spent hundreds of thousands of ratepayer’s money on a DA bosberaad but protested when the ANC did the same. The attitude of the DA towards the small parties could often be styled as arrogant, self-righteous and mean spirited.
Example, recently, the Mayor invited all political parties to partake in the City’s anti-racist campaign. The small parties reacted with great enthusiasm to the invite only to be completely ignored until the close of the campaign. To add insult to injury small party Cllr’s, were informed of the closing panel discussion held at the CTICC 3 hours before it happened. This invite probably happened after the PAC Cllr inquired about any activities around the campaign. Thus only the Cape Muslim Congress and Pan Africanist Congress of the nine small parties managed to attend.
Since the small parties and the ANC meet monthly with the DA in the whips meeting, it is easy to assume that the DA has limited respect for small parties and hence for multi-party democracy. Ironically this is exactly what the DA often accuses the ANC of at a national level and elsewhere.
The Mayor should recall that not so long ago she was also a member of a small party. Also it was the small parties who saved the DA from losing the City of Cape Town not so long ago. Perhaps the DA should review the manner with which it interacts with small parties. Cllr’s of small parties know that the DA is averse to share power, what is thus requested, is magnanimity. There is no need for arrogance.
In the words of the wise, ethical character implies recognizing our inherent egotism and trying to balance this conceit against the altruism to which we must aspire. While this journey is not easy, no definition of decency can be complete without this altruism.
Cllr Yagyah Adams
Cape Muslim Congress