A week after the DA’s Eastern Cape leader Nqaba Bhanga was endorsed as its mayoral candidate for Nelson Mandela Bay, he was involved in a serious car accident. The incumbent mayor was on Monday in a serious condition in the high care unit of Netcare Greenacres hospital in Gqeberha.
The circumstances around crash are still under investigation. What we do know is that it was Bhanga’s 44th birthday on Saturday, he was on the road at 11.30pm, an hour and a half after curfew, and his private vehicle, a Mercedes-Benz, collided with an Audi. The occupants of the Audi, a woman identified as Nonzwakazi Maho, 44, and a man whose name has not been released, died at the scene. Police confirmed they were investigating a case of culpable homicide, and more charges including breaking curfew under the disaster management act could be added.
The DA has not responded in much detail yet. Its provincial chair, Andrew Whitfield, sent condolences to the families of those killed in the accident, wished Bhanga a speedy recovery and added the party was “waiting for more details surrounding the accident”. This crash could have devastating consequences for the main opposition in the Eastern Cape. If it turns out Bhanga was indeed returning after curfew hours from a private function on his birthday, there would be no room to explain away his actions. If this were an ANC politician, the DA would have already called for an investigation, if not a suspension.
In KwaZulu-Natal last week, DA chief whip Zwakele Mncwango had a lot to say about the province’s health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu breaching Covid-19 lockdown regulations when she attended a “surprise” party. Mncwango said: “Considering we’re living in SA where already there are examples where senior members in government have found to be in defiance of regulations … it’s a wrong message to society because we gonna spread this virus that we’re all worried about”.
KZN premier Sihle Zikalala at the weekend fined Simelane-Zulu half a month’s salary, handed her a warning letter and ordered her to apologise. Whether this was a suitable sanction is debatable. Mpumalanga premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane, who during the funeral of Jackson Mthembu – he having died of Covid-19 – did not wear a mask, paid a R1,500 fine after being charged in terms of the disaster management act. Similarly, communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams paid an admission of guilt fine of R1,000 for breaching regulations. She was also suspended for two months and had her salary docked.
If Bhanga is found to be guilty of disregarding lockdown regulations, what would his punishment be? The docking of salaries is insufficient to deter wrongdoers. Harsher penalties should be applied against those discrediting the government’s efforts to fight this pandemic that has killed more than 80,000 South Africans. Our political parties should be consistent in how they handle transgressors in their own ranks and members of their opposition.
This is no time for political point-scoring; our nation’s health is at stake and the adage of leading by example should apply to the ruling party and the opposition.
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