Western Cape premier Helen Zille has acknowledged that she ran her government via cellphone while she was cycling across the province with some of her MECs to hand out bicycles and promote a healthy lifestyle.

ANC leader in the Western Cape legislature Lynne Brown has labelled the cycle tour as "media spin". The opposition ANC has expressed anger because two legislature sittings were cancelled before the recess that starts tomorrow.

Last week, Zille embarked on the "Better Together" cycle tour to promote cycling as a mode of transport and healthier lifestyles to communities from Plettenberg Bay to Khayelitsha, where it ends tomorrow. Zille said despite the fact that she had visited schools, neighbourhood watches and community healthworkers and handed out bicycles, the ANC had been critical of her. "This is part of service delivery, a very strong part of service delivery. I'm still in charge of the province, I'm still a premier. I've got my cellphone, I've got my laptop," she said.

But Brown said: "There are more than 4000 children who will be without a school in a short while and teachers' jobs are on the line . there's no conversation with communities about these things and [yet] they are out running around. It's just spin . If I was her, I'd take my bicycle to the hard-pressed areas, whether it's in Grabouw or Dunoon, where the protests are happening, so that she actually engages with the community on real issues."