ACDP SPEECH ON MOTION OF REMOVAL OF EXECUTIVE DEPUTY MAYOR, CLLR GRANT HASKIN, DELIVERED BY CLLR VINCENT BERGH

Mr Speaker, what should have been a great day for the MPG in the approval of our 4th budget today, has, in our minds, reached its lowest ebb. In the 20+ years that I have practised law, I have learned that, when someone needs to find a way out of a contract or an excuse to divorce where none exist, that they would clutch at any straw to justify their actions.

They will create fairy tales from rumours, paving the way to cancel the agreement, building a case that does not exist, trying to prove that they are in the right and the other party is the culprit. This motion is a breach, by the DA, of the contract entered into between the MPF and the DA, as equal partners, to form the MPG.

After the March 2006 elections, when it was clear that no one party had a clear majority, the ACDP and others formed the MPF. Together, we decided to partner with the DA and not the ANC. Had we chosen not to, the DA would still be in opposition today and we would be governing with the ANC. The agreement we have signed with the DA allocates the post of Deputy Mayor, one Mayco seat and 2 Sub council seats to the ACDP. It allocates positions to all parties. When the MPG expelled the AMP in Jan 2007, it was the ACDP that offered our Deputy Mayors post to the ID to save this MPG, brought stability and a comfortable majority – a sacrifice we made, so that the DA and other partners could stay in power.

After the floor crossing in Sept 2007 the ACDP negotiated with the ID to get back the position of the EDM. The DA did not like that. They wanted the position for themselves and have said so on record and accused the ACDP of bad faith. They also tried to make it impossible for the ACDP to take up that position by rejecting all our candidates. Finally, and very reluctantly, the DA gave up their claim to our post. Now the DA is doing it again.

It was always the DA’s intention to take the position of the EDM so that they could hold the 4 most important positions in the City. They are now on record for saying that they want the position “as a national decision to be as effective as possible politically”.
These accusations of bad faith by the ACDP are based on rumours. I am being accused of publishing an inflammatory letter. I did write an Afrikaans letter, but someone, without my knowledge and consent, translated it into an English version, took what I have said out of context and added their own conclusions. Part of what I said in my letter was inaccurate and when it was brought to my attention I apologised and retracted it in writing twice, and apologised verbally to the former Mayor in person.

I am also now being accused of colluding with the ANC recently and Simon Grindrod previously, to the kick the DA out of City government. The latest ridiculous accusation is that 6 ACDP councillors abstained from voting for the current mayor. All ACDP councillors voted for our new Mayor on 13 May as per the original agreement. Those councillors who DID abstain will recognise this lie for what it is.
Mr Speaker I do not know who has started these rumours, but that person is a blatant liar. The DA has a snake in their midst who obviously has an axe to grind with the ACDP, but they need to be careful, that person will poison their whole caucus. We have no partnership agreement with the DA on provincial level, yet when Mrs Cupido abstained from voting, the ACDP was falsely accused of voting with the ANC. All these, and numerous other false rumours are being used maliciously as justification for taking our Deputy Mayors post. No proof, despite numerous requests, has been forthcoming. Colleagues by now you should understand that the actions of the DA are not based on the mala fides of the ACDP, it is the result of pure greed and opportunism. This motion reminds me so much of the time, and I think Alderman Nielson and many DA councillors will remember, when the NNP crossed the floor to the ANC and the DA shouted: “BETRAYAL!” This motion however is a worse case of betrayal, as the ACDP had put and kept the DA in power through all the onslaughts on this government. This motion shows the DA cannot be trusted as a coalition partner, and I hope that the electorate take note that the DA today has signed the death warrant of coalition governments across the Country because of their greed and breach of contract, trying to make the ACDP out as the culprit.

Mr Speaker, I want to appeal to those members in the DA caucus and in this house who belief in justice, not to support this motion. If you do support it, contrary to your conviction, you have betrayed the ACDP and your own conscience. I am interested to see if there are councillors who put their integrity above loyalty to the party and positions and if the DA has the guts to allow their members to vote according to their conscience. Councillor Pat Arendse often refers to the quote of Abraham Lincoln: “Right is right even if nobody agrees, wrong is wrong, even if everybody agrees.”

The ACDP has tried repeatedly to prevent this public embarrassment to the City government, yet the DA seems compelled to fight everyone all the time. Even if the DA wins this motion, they are the biggest losers in the process, having sold their credibility and their partners for one seat. The ACDP walks away from this having stood for the agreement we’ve signed, having defended our post out of principle. Today will go down in history as, instead of a great day, a day overshadowed by political manipulation and bully tactics of our so-called partners.

Strange, Speaker, that the DA seeks to punish the ACDP for talking to the ID, UDM and FF but they reward the ID with a provincial cabinet post, and retain the UDM in Mayco. None of the DA’s partners have broken the agreement, yet they are punishing the ACDP. This is not consistent.
Also interesting Speaker, before the national and provincial elections the DA could not kick the ACDP out because they did not know if they would need us to govern the province but as soon as it became clear that they did not need us they now kick us out. In the words of Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar, I want to say to those who will support the DA in this motion: “Et tu Brute”