At the altar of materialism, genuine political standards are often sacrificed in a very public manner. For years many commentators including myself have written about this loss of values. That we have some seriously useless politicians at the helm of this city and country is also not news. This opinion has been ridiculed by many as political sour grapes however on the 7th of April the Mayor of Cape Town released a statement that confirmed my historic belief.
With regards to Cllr Grant Pascoe the mayor wrote, his performance has included the following:
- He frequently did not attend meetings of the City’s political and administrative leadership
- For those meetings he did attend, his preparation was poor to non-existent, resulting in his inability to contribute in any meaningful way
- His political management of the TEAM directorate was exceptionally poor
- He had no concept of the City’s strategic framework or policy direction
- He had no understanding or interest in City processes, such as supply chain or budget procedures
- He had no meaningful contributions to make about his constituency in Mitchells Plain.
While some of these statements may be true, why are these issues opened at this stage when Cllr Pascoe joined the ANC? Also, since there are many others politicians at senior levels inside this city that are far worse than Cllr Pascoe, why are they protected and not replaced?
Why Cllr Grant Pascoe left the DA to join the ANC is not the focus of this letter, what is vital is to monitor the political rhetoric that follows. The ANC will claim that the DA is hamstrung by closet racists as suggested by Cllr Pascoe and former Cllr Freddy Kearns who also left the DA citing racial allegations. In response the DA will claim that Cllr Pascoe was a liability and on his way out.
Ironically every few years around election time, politicians fill the media with the most virulent, insulting, wall-to-wall character assassination of each other. A few months later, politicians then declare that they cannot understand why the public has lost hope in them and the political process.
Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda stated “if you tell a lie often enough it becomes the truth”. Years later Mogul the artist wrote, “If you tell a lie often enough it becomes politics”.
What are lies and what is politics, is for the voter to decide? In the words of Mark Twain “never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it”. If voter are unable or unwilling to make educated and informed decisions, so be it.
I am just grateful to live in a multi-party democracy where I can voice my opinion in public without fear and have the choice to decide for myself.
Cllr Yagyah Adams
Cape Muslim Congress