ANC's Cape Town Power Grab Threatens Democracy

MEDIA STATEMENT RELEASED BY:
MR PETER SMITH MP
IFP SPOKESPERSON ON PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT


October 12, 2006

As D-Day looms for Helen Zille and Richard Dyantyi, the Inkatha Freedom Party would once again like to reiterate that the planned power grab by the ANC will be a threat to democracy in South Africa, said Spokesperson on Provincial and Local Government Mr Peter Smith MP.

Western Cape local government minister Mr Dyantyi, a senior ANC cadre, has summoned members of the city council to a meeting next Tuesday where he will flesh out plans to amend Cape Town's system of government.

Commenting on this very issue, leader of the IFP Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, recently said: "The ANC goes through the electoral process and when its results do not suit it, it merely steals away those elected in other parties. We see the same modus operandi in the manner in which they are handling their defeat in the prestigious city of Cape Town. When the rules of democracy do not yield an ANC victory, the ANC just ignores or changes such rules. The outrageous and morally repugnant conduct with which they are now trying to oust out of office the democratically elected Mayor of Cape Town is a precedent which affects everyone."

During resolutions passed at the IFP's 31st Annual General Conference the party reacted with outrage at the current attempts to strip Cape Town Mayor, Ms Helen Zille, of her power to govern the Mother City.

The resolutions state: The IFP is alarmed at the silence on this matter emanating from certain well-known and previously highly profiled and acclaimed voices representing various organs of national and international moral authority (in churches, governments abroad, academia and so on) which helped to bring the ANC alliance to power as the so-called "sole and authentic voice of the people of South Africa".

We question why they now appear to be strangely quiet when a major assault on our democratic order is being openly orchestrated, against the wishes of voters who freely demonstrated their democratic choices and did not give the ANC and its allies an outright majority to rule Cape Town.

We therefore add the voice of the IFP to the calls of ordinary citizens for sanity to prevail and endorse fervent requests to the leadership of the ANC alliance to instruct the ANC MEC for Local Government in the Western Cape, Mr Richard Dyanti, to desist from his stated objective of changing the existing mayoral system of governance which will, in essence, remove Mayor Zille and her current multi-party committee from power

In conclusion Mr Smith MP said: "The IFP will support all efforts to test the Constitutionality of this proposed ruthless and undemocratic power grab, because it sets a precedent which strikes at the very core of this country's democracy. It also exposes the ANC as a party which appears to approve of manipulating power and this must be resisted," concluded Mr Smith.


Contact Details:
Mr Peter Smith MP 084 703 6009
Liezl van der Merwe 083 611 7470