GOOD led a demonstration calling on Western Cape Premier Alan Winde to act on the Public Protector's finding that MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela lied to the House in breach of the Executive Ethics Code. Mr Madikizela has since resigned from his position as MEC and DA Leader in the Province.
The lies of Bonginkosi Madikizela, former Western Cape leader of the DA and MEC, caught up with him when he was exposed by his own colleagues in order to dirty his name and remove him from the race to be a mayoral candidate for Cape Town.
Madikizela's lies about having completed a degree were exposed weeks after he was found guilty by the Public Protector for lying in the legislature about the City of Cape Town's cancellation of social housing projects in the inner-city initiated by former City leaders Patricia De Lille and Brett Herron.
In order to avoid admitting that his DA colleagues in Cape Town had cancelled these projects for political reasons, to keep rich property owners and developers in these areas on-side, Madikizela lied that the projects were stopped by the courts.
Ultimately, however, he won't be held to account for that lie because he resigned from his positions as MEC and DA leader after admitting that the B Com degree listed on his CV was fake.
His bosses rushed to congratulate him for doing the honourable thing, but in truth will have regarded his disgrace as convenient to smooth the way for their favoured mayoral candidate, the relatively inexperienced and paler, Geordin Hill-Lewis. Present mayor Dan Plato, who'd like the job again, is regarded as merely keeping the seat warm.
The day before Madikizela resigned, GOOD Secretary-General Brett Herron led a demonstration outside the provincial legislature calling on Western Cape Premier Alan Winde to act on the finding of the Public Protector.
Rather than admit that his DA colleagues in Cape Town had cancelled the development of affordable housing close to the city centre for political reasons, to keep rich landowners and developers in these areas happy, Madikizela had lied in the House that the projects were cancelled by the courts.
"This is not just about lying, but also about social and spatial justice. The city that apartheid developed was built on injustice and division.
"Reversing this legacy by reintegrating people of colour into the fabric of the city is critical to achieving sustainability and justice. Sadly, the majority in the DA don't see things that way. This is what Madikizela didn't want to admit so he lied about it," Herron said.
The Public Protector's report demanded that the Premier take action within 14 days, which he didn't do. Instead, a week after that, Madikizela fell on his sword.
"Winde's claim to lead a government of integrity rings very hollow. There is no integrity in protecting liars, or in the DA objective to "protect" their rich supporters by keeping people of colour far away on the Cape Flats," Herron said.
* Madikizela is one of several DA leaders embroiled in rows over their stated qualifications. At the same time as his fake degree was being exposed, questions were raised about DA Chief Whip Natasha Mazzone's "legal qualifications", and the claimed post-graduate qualifications of Saldanha Bay Mayor, Marius Koen.
* Madikizela was suspended by the DA when allegations about his fake degree were leaked. Mazzone and Koen remain at their posts.
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