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It has been 10 days since the ANC in the Western Cape said that it would review its coalition agreement with ICOSA in Kannaland, in which they have empowered a convicted child rapist to head the troubled municipality. Our question to the ANC is simple: Will you go ahead with this unethical marriage of immorality and corruption for the next five years?

This question could not come at a more pertinent time. On 25 November, the world began its international campaign of 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence (GBV). During a time in which we are supposed to be highlighting the impact of such atrocious crimes which disproportionately affect women, the ANC’s continued support of Jeffrey Donson and Werner Meshoa can only be described as morally reprehensible. The party’s sole priority is to maintain power at all costs.

However, we should not wait with bated breath. Our counterparts in the National Assembly posed a written question to the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, as to whether the South African Police Services had determined GBV to be a specific crime. In his reply, he not only stated that it was not a specific crime designation, but that GBV was a “social construct”. What message does this send to South Africa if the person in the charge of the lead agency for fighting crime cannot define GBV as a real crime?

The longer the ANC upholds their coalition agreement with ICOSA, the further Kannaland will be pushed into disarray. Already, the mismanagement of the municipality has meant that it has accrued electricity debt to the tune of R13.9 million with Eskom. Persistent political instability has even resulted in the national Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs labelling Kannaland as dysfunctional.

Whilst these actions indicate that the ANC-led National Government’s 365 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign is a mere façade, here in the Western Cape we take our plight seriously. The province remains the only one in South Africa to have adopted a comprehensive GBV Implementation Plan, which is complemented by a provincial Safety Plan.

As the DA in the Western Cape, we call on the ANC and all political parties to act on principle and show that they actually do care for the wellbeing of Kannaland. In a society plagued with GBV, individuals such as the Mayor and Deputy Mayor should not be anywhere near of positions of authority and influence.

Issued by DA Constituency Head for Kannaland, Gillion Bosman, MPL