De Lille on the stump, flushed with pride
Cape Town mayor blames toilet issue on topography, ANC propaganda
THE narrative that Cape Town is the most unequal city in the country is propaganda being peddled by the ANC.
This is according to mayor Patricia de Lille, who is crisscrossing the city begging voters to keep her in charge of the legislative capital.
Speaking to the Sunday Times on the sidelines of her campaign, De Lille dismissed criticism that the DArun metro neglected the poor and directed resources to more affluent suburbs.
“UN-Habitat, they do research every two years, and again they found that the two most unequal cities in the world — not even in South Africa — are Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth.
“In fact, we are the most unequal country in the world and to single out one city is not even factual. UPSET: Xolani Sotashe is confident the ANC will win control of the City of Cape Town
“How can [Cape Town] be the most unequal when we are delivering the best-quality services and more people have access to quality services?
“So it’s just something the opposition has been peddling. I know it’s not true. I know we are the best.”
De Lille also said the City of Cape Town spent the bulk of its R38.2billion on services to the poor.
She said that even the National Treasury had warned the city that its “bouquet of free basic services to the poor” was unsustainable in the long term.
But Africa Check, an independent organisation that assesses claims made in the public domain, has found that it was misleading for the DA to claim that it spent 67% of its budget on Cape Town’s poor communities.
Africa Check has instead found that De Lille’s metro spent just over 49% of its allocated resources on the poor.
However, the mayor and her party remain popular in Cape Town, with the DA expected to increase the 61% support it obtained in 2011 by a significant margin in the local government elections next month.
As she campaigned in the predominantly Muslim area of Surrey Estate, the former lab technician’s popularity was evident, with children lining up to take pictures with her.
But De Lille’s tenure as mayor has not been without controversy, which has included the poo protests that started with residents of areas such as Khayelitsha and Philippi demanding flush toilets.
Ironically, the DA recently welcomed Loyiso Nkohla, one of the instigators of the poo protests, into its ranks in a clear attempt to weaken the ANC.
De Lille has blamed the city’s sanitation woes on landscape and rapid urbanisation.
She said Cape Town had only 223 bucket toilets that it still needed to eradicate.
“We are the only city where we were not able to provide full flush toilets in some areas because of the topography.
“On the Cape Flats and in Khayelitsha, people live on water-retention areas, under electricity pylons or where the water table is too high and you cannot put a full flush toilet there.”
Having served as an MP, a party leader and now mayor, De Lille said she was ready to stand as the DA’s premier candidate for the Western Cape in 2019, when incumbent Helen Zille is expected to step aside.
“I don’t want to be arrogant and decide for myself,” she said, adding that if she were to be nominated, she would have unique experience to bring to the table.
“As provincial leader, I have been around this province three times in one year. I understand the ruralurban divide in this province,” she said. CLASSIC CAMPAIGNING: It might not quite be kissing babies, but Patricia de Lille is seen wooing the voters last week