Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille has slammed ANC councillors' lack of understanding of local government, saying it sometimes makes them "look silly".
The city has been engulfed in service-delivery protests in the past week, which D e Lille has blamed on the ANC.
She said in an interview yesterday with The Times that she had tried to work with ANC councillors in the city.
"Some times I have to sit there [at council meetings] and hear about issues around education. I'm trying to reach out as [much] as I can, but their level of understanding of local government sometimes makes them look silly," she said.
De Lille and Western Cape premier Helen Zille lodged a complaint with the police this week saying ANC leagues had made an explicit threat against their administrations ahead of the service-delivery protests.
The two said a memorandum from the ANC exposed a political hand in the protests.
Video footage showed service delivery protesters at Sweet Home Farms in Philippi were "carefully marshalled by identifiable individuals", they said, intimating that the protest was not organised solely by the community.
"You're not going to get public attention by orchestrating [illegal protests], and misleading [the public]. I'm not saying there's any proof, that's why I want the police to investigate," De Lille said yesterday. She said the work of municipalities was often restricted by the legal requirements of local government.
"The Systems Act, the Municipal Finance Management Act . are so restrictive they slow down service delivery."
On a different tack, De Lille said gangs could not just be wished away.
"Gangsterism cannot just be a law-enforcement issue . you also have to look at the socioeconomic conditions."
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