South Africa: DA Counciller Gets 'Slap On Wrist'

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Cape Argus (Cape Town)

23 July 2008
Posted to the web 23 July 2008

Lindsay Dentlinger

Cape Town city councillor Wilma Brady of the DA has been fined R5 000 for misrepresenting the council in giving a property developer the go-ahead to build 33 houses on provincial land in Delft.

A council disciplinary committee found Brady guilty of breaching the code of conduct for councillors by signing a letter - bearing a letterhead with the name and logo of the City of Cape Town - appointing Lelethu Properties and Development to develop erven belonging to provincial government in Malibu Village.

The disciplinary committee found that Brady knew, at the time when she signed the letter, that she did not have the authority to do so, and thus had acted in a manner that was dishonest and in bad faith.

But the committee's chairperson Anthea Serritslev said strong mitigating factors had been led in evidence and submitted to the committee.

These had counted in Brady's favour, she said.

"The strongest were that she derived no financial benefit, nor did she have any personal interest in the project.

"She said that at all times she believed that she was acting in the best interests of her community, particularly in the light of the current housing crisis. This was not disputed at any time," she said.

Serritslev said it was found that Lelethu Properties had been informed in detail of the procedures and requirements to follow to develop provincial land.

"It was unreasonable for them to rely on the letter to justify building houses. By the time the letter had been written, 18 houses had already been built," she said.

The committee said that in the light of these factors it was of the view that a fine was the most appropriate sanction. This will have to be approved by the council at its next meeting at the end of August.

But the ANC on Wednesday slammed the committee's decision, labelling it a "whitewash".

The party would be pursuing criminal charges against Brady, the ANC said.

The ANC's provincial secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha, filed a criminal case against Brady in June last year.

"This is nothing more than a slap on the wrist. It also sets a very bad example and sends a signal to councillors that they can break the Code of Conduct for Municipal Councillors and get away with it," Skwatsha said.

"The claim in mitigation that councillor Brady did not benefit personally ignores the fact she misled ordinary people in the process, and reiterates the point that the DA misuses housing as a political tool to dispense patronage and divide communities on racial grounds."

The ANC said it wanted Mayor Helen Zille to remove Brady as a sub-council chairperson and councillor.

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