Western Cape premier Helen Zille may sue two ANC Youth League members who hurled insults at her during a botched meeting over open-air toilets in Khayelitsha on Thursday.
Zille told the Sunday Times she had asked lawyers to look at video evidence from the heated meeting in the township's Makhaza section to see if there is a defamation case to answer for ANC Youth League Cape metro treasurer Loyiso Nkohla and provincial youth league member Andile Lili, who called her a racist.
"The ANC Youth League think they can trample on the constitution and flout the law. President (Jacob) Zuma will never draw the line . someone must," she said.
Sicelo Shiceka, the minister of co-operative government and traditional affairs, attended the meeting and said Zille had the right to test the issue in court, but cautioned: "That will not resolve the delivery issues she faces in the area."
He said he would begin meetings this week with the Human Rights Commission, the provincial and local governments and the department of housing to find a solution to the crisis.
The open-air township meeting, requested by Shiceka, was attended by Cape Town mayor Dan Plato and provincial local government MEC Anton Bredell. It came after the city removed toilets from 51 households after angry youth league members had torn down the zinc sheets that had enclosed them.
The city had provided 1316 toilets on the understanding that residents would enclose them to avoid using communal toilets. Of these, 1265 toilets were enclosed and 51 remained open.
The Human Rights Commission has since ruled that the city violated the dignity of residents by putting up toilets that were not enclosed.
Nkohla was the first to lay into Zille at the meeting, accusing her of "bringing a white tendency".
"You are the most racist premier in the world. You must be awarded as the most racist premier of the Western Cape. We are not going to allow you to divide our people. We want (sic) to die because you are racist, arrogant and morally bankrupt. You are not going to intimidate us with police," he told her.
Shiceka stopped short of condemning the do-it-yourself deal struck between the council and a majority of the residents of the area, but said no ANC authority had ever built toilets without enclosures.
He said delivery by government should always be to national standards.
Nkohla said on Friday that he was ready to defend himself against legal action.
"We can't be silenced and intimidated by (Zille's) lawyers. It was not defamation. What we said was her approach and her policies are racist and that is a fact. If we have to pay then that is the price we will pay for raising issues of poor service delivery," he said.
Zille told the Sunday Times she had asked lawyers to look at video evidence from the heated meeting in the township's Makhaza section to see if there is a defamation case to answer for ANC Youth League Cape metro treasurer Loyiso Nkohla and provincial youth league member Andile Lili, who called her a racist.
"The ANC Youth League think they can trample on the constitution and flout the law. President (Jacob) Zuma will never draw the line . someone must," she said.
Sicelo Shiceka, the minister of co-operative government and traditional affairs, attended the meeting and said Zille had the right to test the issue in court, but cautioned: "That will not resolve the delivery issues she faces in the area."
He said he would begin meetings this week with the Human Rights Commission, the provincial and local governments and the department of housing to find a solution to the crisis.
The open-air township meeting, requested by Shiceka, was attended by Cape Town mayor Dan Plato and provincial local government MEC Anton Bredell. It came after the city removed toilets from 51 households after angry youth league members had torn down the zinc sheets that had enclosed them.
The city had provided 1316 toilets on the understanding that residents would enclose them to avoid using communal toilets. Of these, 1265 toilets were enclosed and 51 remained open.
The Human Rights Commission has since ruled that the city violated the dignity of residents by putting up toilets that were not enclosed.
Nkohla was the first to lay into Zille at the meeting, accusing her of "bringing a white tendency".
"You are the most racist premier in the world. You must be awarded as the most racist premier of the Western Cape. We are not going to allow you to divide our people. We want (sic) to die because you are racist, arrogant and morally bankrupt. You are not going to intimidate us with police," he told her.
Shiceka stopped short of condemning the do-it-yourself deal struck between the council and a majority of the residents of the area, but said no ANC authority had ever built toilets without enclosures.
He said delivery by government should always be to national standards.
Nkohla said on Friday that he was ready to defend himself against legal action.
"We can't be silenced and intimidated by (Zille's) lawyers. It was not defamation. What we said was her approach and her policies are racist and that is a fact. If we have to pay then that is the price we will pay for raising issues of poor service delivery," he said.
- The Times
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