Mr Speaker, City Manager, Councillors, City officials, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you to this meeting of Council. We have much work to do today, and I will mention some of the key items that will come before us for consideration. Before I do, however, I would like to draw everyone’s attention to some important incidents that have taken place over the past weeks.
Firstly, we should acknowledge the loss of Councillor Andrew Otto. Councillor Otto died of a heart attack, and his funeral was held over the weekend. He was with us for nearly two years as a proportional representative councillor. His colleagues and I will miss him, and we extend our condolences to his family and loved ones. The vacancy that he has left in Council has been taken up by Mr Magadien Davids. I warmly welcome Councillor Davids, and I wish him well in his future service to his office. He has worked hard as a community activist, and I am sure he will bring much value as a member of this Council.
Sadly, the past weeks have seen many other lives lost in our city. This weekend, seven people died in fires, including four disabled children. A life was also lost in the Wag 'n Bietjie informal settlement earlier in the month, and 1 800 people were left homeless. I am disappointed that the police have chosen to drop the arson investigation into that case. This has been a tragic beginning to the new fire season – and here I would also like to urge our citizens to be especially careful ahead of Guy Fawkes.
Once again, we are relying on our emergency services to protect our citizens. We have done much in Cape Town to strengthen our fire department since we came into office. This year alone, R23 million extra was allocated for pay parity, about 100 new appointments have been made, and a new fleet of fire fighting vehicles has been purchased. But we are still a long way from having an adequate service to meet demand.
The same applies to a number of other services in our city. We must always remain aware of the consequences of sustained under-investment. Last week, Mr Stephen Schippers of our electricity department died of injuries caused by an explosion in a sub-station. Five other City staff members were also injured. The blast occurred during maintenance work. According to SAMWU, this work should happen every two years, but had not been done for seven years in this case. If true, it is totally unacceptable. It is one of the strongest indications yet that we have to prioritise meeting the huge infrastructure backlogs in this city. I hope that SAMWU will help us in this regard.
If we do not accelerate infrastructure investment we will see more incidents of this kind. The blackouts that we have experienced recently as a result of Eskom’s supply shortages also show the impact that infrastructure failure can have on our economy. The Cape Chamber of Commerce has already recorded losses made by industries that have had to reschedule production.
If this continues over the long term, it will drive away businesses, and people will lose their jobs. That is why we must stay focused on our key goal, as set out in our IDP, which is infrastructure-led economic growth.
Of course, it would be easier for us to carry out this important work if the ANC stopped trying to destabilise this administration. We are currently in the midst of their tenth attempt to get this Multi-Party Government out of power. This follows the failure of their ninth attempt during the floor-crossing. Where previously they have used the Local Government MEC’s office, and even fake expulsion letters to the IEC, the ANC is trying to use the police to bring us down. The SAPS, which failed to act on a charge against Chaaban last year, and another this year, have moved swiftly to investigate officials in this City.
The Premier, who earlier refused to appoint a commission of enquiry into the dismal state of policing in the Western Cape, has acted with haste to mobilise an investigation of the MPG. He has accused us of engaging in illegal surveillance, and claims the City paid for a DA probe. The Premier doesn’t seem to be at all interested in what the probe revealed.
This is a familiar trend. When the Health Minister appears to have abused her power while in hospital, the police act quickly against the editor of the Sunday Times for exposing it. While drug dealers are left to ply their trade, the police arrest peaceful anti-drug protesters, and smear community organisations that want to make a positive difference.
If anyone in this City has broken the law, then let the police arrest them. So far, we have seen no charges. Yet the Provincial Police Commissioner has strategically manipulated evidence in a criminal investigation of an alleged double agent in order to smear our Multi-Party Government. He has played specifically chosen sections of seized tapes to the media at a press conference. Carefully selected tape recordings have also been given to the state broadcaster to be played on the radio and on TV. And different snippets of tapes were played by the SAPS to different political leaders in an attempt to drive a wedge into our Multi-Party Government.
The Premier is using this same material to suggest I authorised illegal surveillance of our partner parties. This is an abuse of police resources and the office of the Premier. It seems that, just like President Mbeki and Commissioner Selebi are allegedly protecting Agliotti, Premier Rasool and Provincial Commissioner Petros are protecting Chaaban.
We will not be intimidated by the current attempt to undermine our democratically elected government. The facts before me are very clear. The Speaker is obliged in law to investigate where breaches of the Code of Conduct for Councillors are suspected. Item 13 of Schedule 1 states that if the Speaker ‘is of the opinion that the Code of Conduct has been breached, then he must authorise an investigation of the facts and the circumstances of such an alleged breach.”
Complaints laid by councillors from the ID and others against Chaaban pointed to serious breaches of the Code of Conduct. They include claims that Chaaban was offering bribes to councillors, and making threats. The Speaker executed his responsibility to look into these claims by hiring the private investigators George Fivaz & Associates. He was given a written and legally binding guarantee that their activities were conducted lawfully. The guarantee, on their report, states that their work “was all done within the framework of the law, and furthermore the law was applied and taken into consideration at all times during the execution of our task.”
If the company or its employees did break the law, then it is a matter between them and the police. Similarly, if Fivaz & Associates or any of their employees went beyond their mandate from the City, then the City cannot be held liable. The claim that ratepayers’ money was used to pay a DA bill must also be interrogated. The City paid for investigative material on Chaaban that had been produced by Fivaz & Associates before the City contracted them.
Regardless of why it was produced, or for whom, the material gathered prior to the contract with the City was needed for the Speaker’s investigation. It was a product the City needed, and so it was paid for. The information gathered from the investigation informed the report that the Speaker handed to the prosecutor in the City’s Disciplinary Committee. This Committee subsequently found Chaaban guilty on six counts of breaching the Code of Conduct for Councillors. This item will come before Council today.
In terms of the findings, Chaaban is clearly a danger to others in this Council, and has brought the City into disrepute. I believe, therefore, that it was necessary for the Speaker to launch this investigation, as his office requires him to.
Questions have also been raised by Local Government MEC Richard Dyantyi about the procurement process followed in hiring this company. The City Manager has answered these questions in writing, stating that: “All payments which were made in respect of this investigation complied with sections 11 and 65 of the MFMA in that they were duly certified for payment by the responsible official, then authorised for payment by the City Manager and subsequently processed through the normal expenditure management system. The procurement of the external investigative services in this matter was processed in terms of the relevant provisions of the Municipal Supply Chain Management Regulations and the City’s Supply Chain Management Policy. No payments were authorised by me prior to the relevant procurement approval processes.” I have no reason to doubt the City Manager’s assurance.
However, given the considerable public interest in this matter, I have also appointed an independent committee of enquiry to investigate this matter in depth. In so doing, I am acting in terms of my powers as set out in Section 56 (3) of the Municipal Structures act, and in terms of paragraph 10(5) of the System of Delegations adopted by the City of Cape Town. This committee of enquiry will be headed by Advocate Geoffrey Budlender. I have already published the terms of reference for this enquiry. The questions that I will ask to be probed are:
- Was the institution of an investigation into alleged breaches of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct warranted?
- Was the use of the services of an external service provider in that investigation warranted?
- Was the Council’s procurement policy correctly applied in the procurement of these services?
- Did the City pay for any services that it should not have paid for? If any such finding is made, identify the reason for this.
- Was the Mayor of the City in any way involved in the institution of the procured investigation or the payment subsequently made to the service provider?
- Were councillors of parties that are in partnership with the DA in the City of Cape Town subjected to surveillance, and if so, whether such surveillance was lawful and with the consent of affected councillors?
- If surveillance of councillors of parties that are in partnership with the DA was carried out, for what period did this occur, and by whose authority was it initiated?
I have instructed that amounts the City still owes to George Fivaz & Associates be withheld pending the outcome of the Enquiry.
Turning to today’s agenda, I would like to say a few words on three items in particular. The first of these is a proposal that this Council rescind the decision to enter an in principle Public Transport Agreement with the Provincial Government. This has become necessary because the Public Transport Agreement that Province was proposing is both unconstitutional and contrary to the national government’s transport policy.
The agreement in its current form would commit the City to handing over its public transport responsibilities to the Province in the form of the Public Transport Operating Entity. We have received legal advice that it would be unconstitutional to do so. The advice, furnished to the City by Advocates Breytenbach and Borgström on 21 May 2007 states: “We doubt whether the City can validly assign to a provincial entity like the PTOE its right (and duty) to administer municipal public transport in the Cape Metropolitan Area. The Constitution makes express provision for …assignment of executive authority…from the national and provincial governments to municipalities. There is no provision for ‘upward’ assignments by municipalities.”
We have also been advised that we cannot pronounce on what mechanism will be appropriate for managing public transport until we have consulted with labour, and considered all options for intergovernmental co-operation or outsourcing. This is a process that is required in terms of Section 78 of the Municipal Systems Act. Our legal advice is that this process is required whenever “an existing municipal service is to be significantly upgraded, extended or improved and a new municipal service is to be provided.” The City has initiated this process, and we cannot pre-empt the outcome.
If we want to set up better public transport for the people of Cape Town, we have to work in line with the Constitution and follow all of the correct procedures. As we have seen with the Green Point Stadium, the law must be followed to the letter when any large scale project is undertaken, because such projects often face legal challenges. If we attempt to rush the process now, we will face legal complications and delays later, especially if any decision or action taken by the PTOE is challenged in the courts by a rival operator or any other party.
However, the legal technicalities are not the only reason for us to reconsider the proposed agreement with Province. Both National Cabinet and Parliament are reshaping national policy to recognise that all public transport that begins and ends within a municipality’s boundaries is the constitutional responsibility of the municipality. Parliament recently amended public transport laws to enable municipalities to take the lead in municipal public transport (that is, the 2005 National Land Transport Transition Amendment Bill.) And Cabinet passed a new policy in March this year that requires municipalities to exercise their responsibilities for municipal public transport (the National Public Transport Strategy and Public Transport Action Plan).
Word is out that the bus subsidies that provincial governments currently control are going to be gradually phased out where these bus routes fall within municipal boundaries. A Public Transport Entity controlled by Province would therefore not only be illegal, but also out of step with National Public Transport Policy. Perhaps this is why no other metro in South Africa has chosen this route.
Cape Town is the only city in South Africa where a Public Transport Operating Entity run by the Provincial Government has seriously been considered. We need to look at an alternative way of managing transport operations. Fortunately, most of the planning work for public transport in the City has already been done (including the Integrated Metropolitan Transport Plan and the World Cup Host City Transport Plan Co-ordination Framework). Much of the planning work for transport in the city has been done in collaboration with Province over the past 18 months. Our plans are in line with the amendments to national transport laws and Cabinet’s new policy. In addition, a lot of infrastructure is already being put in place.
This morning I attended the launch of the new Khayelitsha Rail Extension, where the City has dedicated over R60 million to improving public access to the train network. We are also currently investigating the implementation of Park and Ride facilities at key rail stations along the Khayelitsha Line. There are a number of similar projects in the pipeline. We now need a legally compliant, cost effective and world class operating plan, and we are bringing in an international team of experts to assist us in this regard. We will also continue to work with Province to ensure that the best possible results are delivered.
The second item that I would like to draw to your attention is a proposal that will make over 2 500 affordable or GAP housing opportunities available to people on our housing waiting lists. Council will be asked authorise Nedbank, ABSA and Standard Bank to develop key parcels of Council land. This will give permission to the banks to develop there, but the land will only be transferred to the people buying the houses.
This will keep the land price down, and the banks will benefit by selling the top structures. Those people on our housing waiting list with a household income of between R3 500 and R7 000 will be prioritised in this project. If Council supports it, we will have a ceremonial signing of the agreement with the banks tomorrow.
I hope we will see more of these important projects get off the ground in the months ahead, although our key challenge still lies in gaining access to suitable land. As we have seen with the relocation of people from the Wag n’ Bietjie informal settlement, this is no simple matter. We are still not receiving the support we need from the Provincial Housing Department in this area.
The third and critical item on today’s agenda is, of course, the election of the new Deputy Mayor. This follows the decision by outgoing Deputy Mayor Charlotte Williams to step down. I would like to thank Councillor Williams for her service in this position, and I hope that she will have every success in facing the challenges of her new role as Athlone Sub-council Chair. I also look forward to welcoming a new Deputy Mayor today, in order to fill the position that has been vacant for some weeks now.
There are many other important items for us to consider today, and so I will now hand over to the Speaker for question time.