ANC plans to report DA to the Public Protector

The ANC's Western Cape leadership plans to report the DA-led Cape Town city council to the Public Protector for tender corruption.

As the battle for control of Cape Town heats up before next month's municipal elections, the ruling party blasted the DA yesterday.

ANC provincial secretary Songezo Mjongile, flanked by provincial chairman and Deputy International Relations and Co-operation Minister Marius Fransman, and treasurer Fezile Calana, at the party's offices, declared Cape Town "a city in crisis".

Labelling the DA a party for the privileged, the ANC men accused it of nepotism and flouting empowerment regulations.

"Cape Town was turned into a city in crisis under DA rule. It is only through DA spin, smoke and mirrors that a favourable picture is painted. But what is the situation for millions of people in the city?" asked Mjongile.

Mjongile criticised the city's management for spending more than R5-billion on the Cape Town stadium, the Atlantis integrated rapid bus transport system and 80 buses he said were idle and rusting.

"Instead of growing its expenditure to assist people trapped in poor areas, the city, under the DA, reversed some of the spending trends and is spending about a percent of its capital budget on informal areas where people live in abject poverty.

"The majority goes into formal and serviced areas with existing infrastructure," Mjongile said.

When the DA snatched the city from the ANC, it was "financially healthy, soundly managed, with stabilised revenue streams and had a vast cash-flow dowry".

The party leaders characterised themselves and the ruling party as the "voice of the voiceless" and of the poor of Cape Town, whom they said had been neglected by the DA for the past five years.

But Rulleska Sing, spokesman for executive mayor Dan Plato, said the ANC claims were baseless and the city's books were open to anyone who wanted to investigate its affairs.

"We are the only municipality that has had six consecutive clean audits from the auditor-general."