Bid to defend mayor’s outburst
DA LEADER in the Western Cape Bonginkosi Madikizela has come to the defence of Cape Town mayor Dan Plato following his outburst at Mitchells Plain at the weekend.
Plato caused a stir when a video surfaced showing him commenting about people coming into the Western Cape.
In the video, Plato can be heard saying the Western Cape government was spending 99% of its budget on people who came to the province.
“If you must see how we must trim the budget, we pay, currently as we speak, 99% for those coming into the Western Cape. The two of us pay for them.
“They can’t fend for themselves. “Lots and lots of our budgets go into them, unfortunately, and that is a challenge, a major challenge and one has to bear that in mind,” he said.
Yesterday, Madikizela said people who came to the province could not help themselves, and that they needed assistance from the government.
“There’s nothing wrong with what mayor Plato said; many people come to Western Cape looking for greener pastures, because they have a prospect of finding a job here. That’s why we have the lowest unemployment rate.
“I always emphasise the importance of respecting the principle of first-come, first-served. We must always ensure, for instance, that those who registered for houses first, are first to receive them.”