DA backs Zille over colonialism
Protector found her tweet had violated the constitution
THE DA has sprung to Western Cape Premier Helen Zille’s defence after Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane found she must face the music over her controversial tweet regarding the benefits of colonialism.
Yesterday, the party slammed Mkhwebane’s report on Zille, saying they would push for her removal from the office of the Chapter 9 body.
Delivering quarterly reports on concluded investigations, Mkhwebane said the Western Cape legislature must hold Zille to account for her tweet, which sparked public outrage last year.
Zille had tweeted: “For those claiming colonialism was only negative, think of our independent judiciary, transport infrastructure, piped water etc.”
Mkhwebane said she found Zille’s remarks to be in violation of the constitution and the executive members’ ethics code, and that she was guilty of misconduct.
“The tweet has brought back a lot of pain and suffering to victims of apartheid and colonialism in South Africa. She (Zille) celebrated oppression, exploitation, racism and poverty, which are the direct results of the legacy of colonialism.
“She (Zille) failed to act in good faith and in the best interests of good governance by making such statements. And the premier’s action did not comply with what was expected from a person holding the office of the premier of a province.
“She also failed to act in a manner that is consistent with the integrity of the office,” Mkhwebane added.
She said Zille had violated the principles of the constitution and divided society on racial grounds.
“By undermining South Africans with her personal beliefs on colonialism, she failed to uphold her oath of office, which requires the premier to hold office with honour and dignity.”
Mkhwebane has now directed Western Cape speaker Sharna Fernandez to table the report before the legislature within 30 days, and for it to take action against Zille.
Former public protector Thuli Madonsela also found Jacob Zuma guilty of violating his oath of office and the same code of ethics in the Nkandla matter, a decision that intensified calls from opposition parties for him to step down.
Zille said she would take Mkhwebane’s report on judicial review, describing it as illegal and irrational.
“The premier has not yet received the actual report outlining the reasons for this finding. However, from what has been announced on TV, the premier is likely to take this report on judicial review.
“The premier has already advised the public protector that, in her view, such a finding would be unlawful and irrational,” her office said in a statement.
The DA previously compelled Zille to apologise unconditionally for the tweet, which she eventually did.
DA parliamentary chief whip John Steenhuisen yesterday also blasted Mkhwebane’s report, accusing her of being reliant on irrelevant sections of the constitution when compiling her report.
Steenhuisen also said Mkhwebane did not give Zille the copy of the report before presenting it to the public.
“Neither the premier nor the party have been provided with the report, as required in terms of the public protector’s responsibilities.
“The excerpts that I have seen of it seem to have been once again a complete overreach by the public protector, relying on sections of the constitution which are not relevant,” Steenhuisen said.
Mkhwebane pointed out in her report that by apologising for the tweet, Zille had admitted to her misconduct. “Her apology can be interpreted as recognition of the negative impact the tweet had on the dignity of a section of the population.
“Although the tweet could have been made in the context of the premier’s right to freedom of expression as provided in section 16 of the constitution and in good faith…
“But it was offensive and insensitive to a section of the South African population, which regarded it as reopening a lot of pain and suffering to the victims of apartheid and colonialism, particularly considering the position of influence she holds,” Mkhwebane said.
Tomorrow, the justice portfolio committee will hear the DA’s request for an inquiry into Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office.
Said Steenhuisen: “We believe she is completely out of her depth and must vacate the Office of the Public Protector.”
Both the official opposition and the EFF have argued that Mkhwebane was unfit to hold office, due to her alleged proximity to Zuma and his allies.
Recent reports by Mkhwebane have been subject to controversy and judicial review, including the Bankorp/Absa case in which she recommended that the Special Investigating Unit recover more than R1 billion from Absa for an apartheid-era bailout from the SA Reserve Bank.
The Pretoria High Court set aside Mkhwebane’s remedial action and ordered her to personally pay 10% of the legal costs, following a judicial review application of the report earlier this year by the central bank, Absa and the National Treasury.
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THE DA is gearing up for next year’s elections, setting its sights on winning the Northern Cape and Gauteng while retaining the Western Cape with increased support. But the party has failed to douse political flames and simmering divisions.
Party leader Mmusi Maimane at the weekend revealed part of the DA’s plans for the general elections after the party’s federal executive had met.
Maimane said their focus lay in Gauteng, the Northern Cape and Western Cape, with these being their “strategic” provinces.
He said their plan was to become the biggest party in Gauteng and the Northern Cape, while retaining the Western Cape with an increased majority.
“In addition to this, we plan to substantially increase our percentage of the national votes cast.
“This means that the provinces of KwaZuluNatal, North West and the Eastern Cape will contribute significantly to the growth targets of the party based on our strong structures and electoral performance,” he said.
He added that in recent by-elections, the DA had grown significantly in both rural and urban areas – in suburbs and in townships.
In the Eastern Cape, the party recently grew from 88% to 96.01% in the Ward 18 by-election in Buffalo City municipality, and from 6.24% to 24.94% in Ward 9, Ingquza Hill local municipality.
But in the Western Cape, the only province run by the DA, the party saw doubledigit losses to the ANC in two by-elections held in traditional DA strongholds.
The ANC grew by 17% in Oudtshoorn and 11% in Saldanha Bay.
Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said there was still time for the DA to implement its recovery plan.
“But the chances of that happening are slim, given the sentiments of the voters in the province. I don’t think the DA is imploding, but if you’re talking about getting more voters, the DA is restraining its voter growth,” he said.
Mathekga added that although there were ambitious leaders in Gauteng, voters still liked Premier David Makhura and especially President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“The ANC is currently at just more than 50% in Gauteng, but with the right people they will take it.
“The DA has leaders like Herman Mashaba and Makashule Gana, but the latter is very young. Gana has not been in leadership positions. At best he may be mayor before wanting to be a premier candidate.
“You’ve never run a spaza shop, but you want to run the whole food chain. It won’t work,” Mathekga said.
Asked about the Northern Cape, Mathekga said: “It’s a small province in terms of numbers. Not even John Block’s demise affected the ANC. The ANC will take it.”
Bonginkosi Madikizela, the DA’s Western Cape leader, said the province had been named the best province by the Auditor-General and StatsSA.
“We have our problems, but through it all we have attained so much. The De Lille matter, for instance, does come up at our public meetings, but people are more interested in breadand-butter issues,” he said.
Ebrahim Rasool, the ANC Western Cape’s elections head, said close to 5 000 volunteers would be launching the Thuma Mina (Send Me) campaign next month.
“We are not overly confident about our campaign. We are going to communities with a sense of humbleness, because we know that we need to get their trust and prove to them that we are serious. We are not in election mode yet, we are now planning,” he said.
The party is restraining its voter growth