COPE breaks ties with the DA in the Western Cape

Imogen Vollenhoven
15January 2013

Decision of the interim congress provicial committee to terminate the mutual coopeeration which exits between Cope and the Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape, Pertaining to local government elections.

The Interim held a meeting on the 12^th and the 13^th in Cape Town.

The Provicial Treasurer Bernared Josheph explains futher that the CPC, after interacting and deliberations on the concerns and challenges facing these structures which inter alia relate to:

·        The DA’s inability to conclude the agreements of cooperation between the parties

·        Our ability to adequately represent the interests of the most marginalised communities in council is being hampered by the DA’s “bully” tactics in council meetings

·        In council meetings our representatives are not acknowledged as fully fledged partners but are merely used to “rubberstamp” the DA’s decisions and implement their policies which aims to further their own agenda to the detriment of the community at large

·        COPE councillors are being threatened with removal unless they tow the DA line by voting in a particular manner, e.g. the Deputy Mayor of Langeberg Council and Deputy Mayor of Bitou.