Cape Town – Opposition parties in the City of Cape Town have jointly announced that they refuse to accept Mayor Geordin Hill-Lews’ explanation that there is insufficient evidence to justify the removal of JP Smith and Xanthea Limberg from his Mayoral Committee.
Mayor Hill-Lews’ Democratic Alliance (DA) party has the majority in the City of Cape Town council.
“There is objective evidence the pair are under investigation. Evidence which was submitted to a judicial officer who felt compelled to issue a warrant for the raid,” said a joint statement released by the protesting parties Thursday, (30 January 2025).
“If the shoe was on the other foot, with a mere hint of corruption, with no raid or official charge, the DA is the first to call for removal.
“It is time they practised what they preach.”
The opposition parties including the African National Congress, GOOD Party, Economic Freedom Fighters, Patriotic Alliance, United Democratic Movement, and Africa Restoration Alliance boycotted the planned council meeting.
The protest action was proposed by comments on Wednesday, (29 January 2025), by Mayor Hill-Lewis.
The mayor, who is a member of the DA, said he had met with the police and was satisfied that there was not enough evidence to remove the two Members of the Mayoral Committee.
Matters came to a head last week on Friday, (24 January 2025), when the police swooped on the 6th floor of the Cape Town Civic Centre in search of evidence of wrongdoing related to dodgy tenders.
The floor, which was raided on Friday, (24 January 2025), houses the Mayor and his Members of the Mayoral Committee.
It later emerged that police had searched the offices of Mayoral Committee Members JP Smith and Xanthea Limberg in connection with possible tender fraud.
Since the raid opposition parties have demanded action against the two similar to that meted out to Malusi Booi, the former MMC for Human Settlements, who was subsequently arrested for tender fraud.
Following a meeting with the SA Police Service (SAPS) on Wednesday, (29 January 2025), afternoon, Mayor Hill-Lewis said he has “determined that there was insufficient evidence”, at this stage, to justify the removal of Smith and Limberg from the Cape Town Mayoral Committee.
Responding to criticism about different treatment for Smith and Limberg as opposed to the swift action taken against Booi, Mayor Hill-Lewis explained: “It should be pointed out that there are crucial differences between this and the earlier matter relating to Malusi Booi, which has since proceeded to trial.
“In the Malusi Booi matter, SAPS gave me insight into substantive evidence of alleged corruption and advised me of their intention to make an arrest,”
“This enabled me to act based on credible and substantive evidence, which is absent at this stage in this matter.”
Earlier, Thursday there was a protest outside the Cape Town Civic Centre, where members of the opposition parties voiced their demands for Smith and Limberg to be removed from the Mayoral Committee.
“To voice our contempt for the DA’s inaction, as opposition, will be attending the first City council meeting in council chambers even if their DA counterparts will not,” opposition parties said in their joint statement.
“However, we will not be logging on to the online session which we believe is just a farce to protect Smith and Limberg from public scrutiny.
“Virtual meetings were borne out of a Covid-19 necessity, the DA-led city is now hiding behind this option instead of facing the opposition, members of the media, and public.”
The statement added: “As opposition parties, we are jointly united in our call for Smith and Limberg to step down or be suspended pending the outcomes of the investigation.
“Their continued presence could impede the investigation or at least give the perception of being in a position to impede.”
