Cape Town - Local Government MEC Anton Bredell has shrugged off a warning from the ANC that it will be watching him closely for signs of party political bias in his treatment of local municipalities in the province.
He told the ANC it should instead be aware of its own problems.
In a statement, the leader of the provincial opposition, Cameron Dugmore (ANC), said that after the recent local government elections and the constitution of new municipalities, the ANC was unconvinced Bredell would resist the temptation to interfere in the operations of municipalities.
He said Bredell had been found guilty twice by the Public Protector in the past 12 months of abusing the code of ethics in the manner in which he has acted as MEC.
“The Public Protector made shocking findings against Bredell. She found that his conduct was improper and in violation of the Constitution, as well as a breach of the Executive Ethics Code. She recommended the Premier reprimand him.
“As the first anniversary of the damning report about his interference in appointments at George municipality comes up, we are warning the meddling MEC we are watching him,” Dugmore said.
He said the ANC had demanded that Premier Alan Winde fire Bredell to show his commitment to clean governance, but Bredell got off with a slap on the wrist.
Bredell’s spokesperson James-Brent Styan said: “Given the complete collapse within the ANC and the abysmal support it has among voters given decades of looting and corruption in ANC-led municipalities, the minister suggests it might be best if the ANC leader in the Western Cape sweeps in front of his own door first and keeps a close eye on his own party instead.”
Meanwhile, following the elections, the South African Local Government Association (Salga) will on Tuesday unveil its newly revamped councillor induction programme and a virtual e-learning digital toolkit.
Central to the training is the importance of responsibility and integrity to ensure competence and skill when the councillors execute the mandate of service delivery to their constituencies.