COSATU and ODAC threaten legal action to access a City of Cape Town report

A statement issued by COSATU on 5 April notes that the organisation is “concerned that the City of Cape Town is denying the People of Cape Town access to a report done by a public institution using Public funds”, claiming that, “the attempt to hide this report is because it contradicts the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) attempt to say that the City delivers for all”.

The Cape Times reports that the Report, commissioned by the council from an independent company, TNS Research, was intended to measure residents’ perception of services delivered by the city, includes data gathered through 3,000 face to face interviews with city residents and 700 telephonic interview with city businesses.

Citing the construction of a bicycle route for the “Milnerton elite” and the provision of a “special bus service for the wealthy to the airport”, the statement argues that “the report exposes the fact that the DA mainly delivers for the wealthy, South Africa reflected by the negative ratings of the people of Khayalitsha and Mitchell’s Plain”.

COSATU demanded that the DA release the report by 12 00 Wednesday 6 April 2011, failing which COSATU would bring an application under the disclosure of Information Act.

Business Day reports on 7 April, that the Cape Town city council “took the wind out of the sails of COSATU” saying that the organisation was welcome to have a copy of the report.

A follow up statement issued by COSATU on 11 April draws attention to the organisations intention to file corruption charges against the for “spending public funds on their friends in wealthy areas when there is such a desperate need for services in poor communities”. Insisting that the DA’s failure to make good on election promises amounted to fraud, and that “fraudulent behaviour is also a form of corruption”, the statement added that “COSATU will be calling on the South African police to investigate these allegations and to bring criminal charges against the perpetrators in the DA and the City Administration.”

The City of Cape Town posted the report on its website on 13 April, after COSATU and the Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC) demanded a copies. See a summary of this report, the residents’ survey and the business survey.

This is but one example of the many in the media that deal with spats between those contesting the local government elections, and we can probably expect more heated exchanges as election-day draws near.
We’re not as interested in the specifics of this exchange or claims and counter claims made by the two parties as we are in what is at stake for us as citizens. 1) We expect to have access to the records of government, and we expect our government – local, provincial or national – to be open and transparent in its dealings. We support and defend the right of organisations like COSATU to demand access to public documents, commissioned by a public entity and paid for through the public purse. 2) We expect our government and its representatives to be accountable for their words and their actions. If public funds are utilised we have a right to know the purpose to which they have been put as well as how decisions to prioritise one project over another are arrived at. 3) In making good on the expectation of accountability, we expect government and its representatives to monitor their activities. How else can we measure progress? How else will we whether government has honoured the promises it has made to us? 4) We support decision of the city to conduct a customer satisfaction survey and to make the record of it available. We will be going to the polls this month. We have the right to exercise our citizenship responsibly and to make an informed choice about who to vote for.

We are intrigued by COSATU’s intention to sue the DA for fraud and corruption on the grounds that it has not honoured the promises it made to the citizens of Cape Town. Ongoing service delivery protests seem to indicate that there are many who feel that government has not adequately protected the rights outlined in our Constitution. Should we expect or encourage protesters to take court action too?

Source: Politicsweb, The Cape Times, COSATU, Business Day

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