Durban — The DA Federal Council chairperson, Helen Zille, has slammed the eThekwini Municipality for returning to the National Government more than R300 million of grants that were meant to improve infrastructure in the city.
Zille was speaking to the Ward 11 community in Newlands East on Monday before the by-elections scheduled for Wednesday.
Accompanying Zille were the DA’s provincial leader, Francois Rodgers, and the provincial chairperson, Dean Macpherson.
Zille told the community that the best way to put an end to that was to return the DA to lead the ward and continue its project to remove the ANC from eThekwini and KZN, once and for all.
“The City was granted R315 million in the previous period but struggled to spend the funds to upgrade the infrastructure. They only spend funds when it is beneficial to them. You have the choice to change all that in the coming elections,” said Zille.
She said she was confident that her party would win, judging by the relationship the DA candidate, Allan Peterson, had with the community.
“Allan Peterson is ready to fight for residents in council and the DA stands united in his pursuit of accountable and effective governance for the benefit of all residents. He has the support of both the provincial and national leadership.
“He is up to date with issues of service delivery and I am also here to engage with you on any issues you might have,” said Zille.
Asked about her thoughts on the peace talk mission by President Cyril Ramaphosa, Zille said it was all a public relations stunt.
“Who on earth thinks they can end a massive war just by chatting to the affected parties? Nobody in their wildest dreams can just end a war just like that. It brings nothing but shame on our country (and not only on your ‘peace missions’). He must just come home and fix our electricity supply,” she said.
Zille’s visit to Ward 11 came after the DA in KwaZulu-Natal had condemned the repeated land invasions in Newlands East at the weekend, allegedly led by the ANC.
In a statement, Macpherson said information had been brought to their attention by members of the community in Quarry Heights that the ANC had allegedly provoked people to invade the land in the ward to garner support to offset its failing campaigning.
“To make matters worse, members of the eThekwini Land Invasion Unit seem to have taken a back seat allowing this lawlessness to go unchecked and without response. There can be no doubt that the ANC’s failings have led to a situation in which people are desperate and see land grabs as a solution. This sort of political trick, supported by the municipality, will not be tolerated by the DA or residents of Ward 11,” he said.
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