SERVICE DELIVERY

Plato wants DA members to set grievances aside and pay maximum attention to citizens

CAPE Town mayoral candidate Dan Plato has warned members of the DA caucus in the metro to leave their factional agendas at the door and focus on service delivery. “The time for disunity is over; we must work together,” he said.

CAPE Town mayoral candidate Dan Plato has warned members of the DA caucus in the metro to leave their factional agendas at the door and focus on service delivery.

“The time for disunity is over; we must work together,” Plato said.

He was speaking to the Weekend Argus on the eve of former mayor Patricia de Lille’s resignation this week.

During the interview in the Department of Community Safety building where he was MEC, staff in Plato’s office were seen moving his wall adornments, including awards, certificates and pot plants, to the mayor’s office at the Civic Centre.

“Come Thursday, I will not be here, we hope. The DA leadership is dealing with it,” he said.

Plato’s words came true when De Lille announced her resignation from the DA and agreed to hand over the mayoral chain amid speculation that she might have resisted.

Plato said the wrangling between De Lille and the DA that led to her approaching the courts, first about party membership and, more recently, about alleged mismanagement, was bad for service delivery.

“These issues have compromised service delivery and have placed officials in limbo,” Plato said.

Asked how he planned to unite a feuding DA caucus in the metro council, Plato said his appointment as mayor was an advantage because “I was not part of the issues. No one can label me with any faction”.

Although time will tell whether Plato enjoys enough clout to unite party members, he is confident he is the man for the job.

“When I get to council, I will tell councillors ‘let’s stop the nonsense’,” he emphasised.

“Being in council is not for your own benefit, but for the service of citizens,” he said.

“We must pay maximum attention to citizens, they deserve nothing less.”

Plato said he had received complaints from various city residents about the “childish” manner in which council meetings were conducted, and said he planned to turn this around.

Also in his list of priorities, Plato said he would attend to complaints about high water tariffs.

Plato was born in Swellendam 58 years ago. He grew up in Ravensmead and has been a member of the DA since 2002.

He became MEC for community safety in June 2011 after a two-year stint as the mayor of Cape Town.

He took over the mayorship from Helen Zille, who was appointed premier following the 2009 elections. In 2011, Plato made way in the mayor’s office for De Lille, who this week returned the favour.

Known for his knowledge and connections with the goings-on in the drug and gang underworld, Plato said his frustration as MEC for Community Safety was not having a mandate over policing.

“The department has no operational control, but limited oversight over police,” he said, adding that he did his best while at the helm.

“This is the only Community Safety Department in the country that has introduced a legal framework for neighbourhood watches and community policing. We have also introduced Court Watching Briefs where we monitor high-profile gang and drug cases.”

He said that through various outreach programmes, many young people had been saved from a life of gangsterism and crime.

“We did what we could under budget constraints,” he said.

He described himself as an “ordinary man of the people”.

DAN PLATO