De Lille invites councillors to be part of Inclusive City campaign

TALK of racism and discrimination dominated much of the debate at yesterday’s council meeting with mayor Patricia de Lille inviting councillors to join the Inclusive City campaign.

But Tony Ehrenreich, of the ANC, said racism was rife in the city, and present within the City of Cape Town where some councillors enjoyed preferential treatment.

He said the city’s anti-racism campaign needed to be led by the South African Human Rights Commission, “because we don’t trust the mayor”.

De Lille hit back, saying: “I don’t need a lecture from the minority of racists he speaks for.”

Meanwhile, the ANC’s attempts to bring a motion of no confidence in Speaker Dirk Smit have been put on hold. Smit said motions had to be submitted within 10 days of a council meeting, and the ANC’s motion would therefore have to be held over until the next meeting at the end of next month.

The ANC called a press conference before the meeting to voice its concern with Smit’s interpretation of the rules. “We’ve lost confidence in the Speaker. He’s a huge liability for this council,” said Xolani Sotashe, ANC chief whip. “He’s an instrument (that is being) used to frustrate the opposition.”

Despite rumours of possible disruptions, the council meeting went off without any major incidents. Sotashe had indicated beforehand that the ANC would abide by council rules.

Smit confirmed he had arranged for a second venue in case the meeting was disrupted again. The Speaker moved the January council meeting to a new venue after the ANC refused to leave the Chamber.

Meanwhile, the city’s anti-racism campaign has gained traction outside of council, with Wesgro affirming its support.

Tim Harris, chief executive of Wesgro, said more than 40 percent of the 2.3 million domestic tourists visiting the province came from Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.

“The Western Cape hospitality industry works to provide excellent service to all South Africans. Wesgro will assist mayor de Lille in her campaign against racism because it is the right thing to do, and because it’s good for business in our province.”