ANC: supporters put pressure on the party

‘It was the high hostility of the voters towards Icosa in Kannaland’

THE ANC Western Cape says its councillors in Kannaland were under pressure from the community when they entered into an “informal agreement” with the DA to boot the Independent Civic Organisation of SA (Icosa) out of power.

The party instructed its councillors to terminate their “relationship” with the DA in the ANC/DA-led Kannaland Municipality.

ANC provincial secretary Faiez Jacob says they have yet to receive feedback from the councillors who had entered into an agreement with the DA without their respective parties’ approval after last year’s local government election.

While Jacobs said the party had sent the request on June 24, DA federal executive chairperson James Selfe said the party had given its councillors a “strict admonishment”.

The local elections left Kannaland municipality without an outright majority party.

Earlier this year, the ANC recalled Kannaland mayor Magdalena Barry and her deputy Phillipus Antonie in efforts to end its relationship with the DA in the governing of the municipality.

ANC acting provincial chairperson Khaya Magaxa said their councillors in Kannaland received support from their DA counterparts in the election of the mayor, and “had to support the DA on the other hand”.

“We realised it’s not what we wanted, but when we went there to investigate, we realised the issue was not about the ANC supporting the DA or the DA supporting the ANC. The problem was that the community found it difficult because of their experiences with Icosa,” he said.

“When we were educated about that process, we decided it was a process where they did not have an option because they faced pressure from the community, the voters of the ANC in the area. We did not want to punish anyone based on that. It was the high levels of hostility from our own voters towards Icosa,” he said.

A report into fraud, corruption and other financial misconduct in the Kannaland municipality found irregular expenditure amounting to more than R14 million.

The investigation involved the alleged irregular appointment of at least five service providers who ostensibly rendered various services to the Kannaland municipality between 2011 and last year under the ANC-Icosa coalition.

Icosa provincial leader David Kamfer said: “The ANC/ DA coalition had been so bent on fingering the successful former Icosa government that the initiatives of the previous successful Icosa government are now diminished by some self-righteous, self-serving agenda without even a mere thought of service delivery to the vulnerable…”