City’s DA leader defends party
Twigg rubbishes mayor’s claims of opposition to transformation
THE DA’s Cape Town leader, Grant Twigg, said there has never been any opposition to transformation from within party ranks. Twigg has for the first time openly challenged mayor Patricia de Lille’s previous claims that there are efforts to halt transformation. On Facebook, Twigg said the political situation in Cape Town is becoming a mind game.
“It’s interesting because it tries to remove focus from one issue to another when in fact if it is true then it’s two different matters. Before Craig Kesson’s claims of possible irregularities in the City, there was no such thing that anyone was trying to stop the spatial transformation within the city.” The Cape Argus reported previously on De Lille’s claim that she is under political pressure from various quarters and that there are plans to remove her for implementing a spatial transformation plan. This was contained in the affidavit of Kesson tabled before the full council.
He alleged that De Lille and City manager Achmat Ebrahim covered up corruption involving Melissa Whitehead, transport commissioner of Cape Town.
The corruption included an amount of R43 million, Kesson claimed.
Twigg said he saw the first mention of the opposition to the transformation in the city on newspaper headlines.
“So why is the attention of Cape Town deliberately being shifted to this only after the whistle-blower identifies major concerns. Being a councillor in the City of Cape Town myself there was never mention to me or my colleagues that we (are) getting opposition (from) within regarding these plans to transform Cape Town.
“It’s now only in the media that I hear of this, well maybe this too should be investigated, but then let’s keep the the two matters separated.”
De Lille did not respond to Twiggs’ comments. Meanwhile, Whitehead, the City transport and urban development commissioner, in reply to Kesson’s claims said that over the last few months on more than one occasion, but specifically to the Audit Committee, Kesson stated that she has not done enough to stop the theft, that she was failing in contractual management duties and she could be responsible for the theft.
“These allegations are untrue and misleading. He has made these allegations even though I have been told by the portfolio manager: probity, who reports to Kesson, that I am not permitted to implement a long-term sustainable solutions until such time as the external forensic investigation undertaken by Price Water House Coopers (“PwC”) has been concluded.”
City manager Achmat Ebrahim said: “I respectfully submit that there is no further step which I could reasonably have taken at this stage (as the matter remains an ongoing one), and I deny that I have been guilty of any misconduct in relation to the afore-going facts and circumstances.”
The investigation is set to be completed by early next month.