Zille ‘ducks, dives’ on Sea Point school sale

Carlo Petersen and Sandiso Phaliso

PREMIER Helen Zille “ducked and dived” when answering questions from members of the provincial legislature yesterday on the disposal of the Tafelberg School site in Sea Point.

Even while she and MEC for Transport and Public Works (TPW) Donald Grant were defending their decisions, they omitted to mention that the province had agreed to halt the sale of the hotly contested site until the Western Cape High Court rules on the legality of the sale.

Zille invoked the sub judice rule to dodge questions as the matter is still before the Western Cape High Court, but faced criticism from opposition MPLs for being hypocritical.

NGO Reclaim The City (RTC) – which hauled Zille, Grant and others before the court – lambasted Zille, saying it was “highly ironic” that she cited the sub judice rule.

“Her fellow party members have been critical of the abuse of the sub judice rule when invoked by the national ruling party on a number of high-profile cases, including Nkandla, al-Bashir’s flight and the ongoing fiasco around Hlaudi Motsoeneng,” said RTC spokesperson Hopolang Selebalo.

RTC and a Khayelitsha resident, Thozama Adonisi, took the matter to court to halt the sale of the Tafelberg site after Grant allegedly sold the property despite requests from the provincial Department of Human Settlements that the site be used for social housing.

Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre, acting on behalf of Adonisi, announced yesterday that TPW had decided it would not challenge the interdict.

TPW advertised the site to private investors in December 2015 and the property was sold to Phyllis Jowell Jewish Day School. Lawyers for Phyllis Jowell Jewish Day School are still waiting for instructions.

On Zille’s “ducking and diving”, RTC deferred to MP Gavin Davis, who quoted constitutional law expert Professor Pierre de Vos on the matter in the portfolio committee meeting yesterday.

“One of the most irritating phenomenon of our political life is the manner in which politicians wrongly invoke the so-called sub judice rule to avoid accountability. Because they do not want to answer difficult questions or deal with politically awkward issues, such politicians invoke a rule that only exists in their imagination,” De Vos said.

Mandisa Shandu, Ndifuna Ukwazi’s (NU) defence representative, said the matter was to be heard in court yesterday, but proceedings had to be postponed because legal representatives for the department told her team they were instructed to agree to a reversal of the transfer of the site.

“It is a mini victory. The department agreed to suspend the transfer pending the determination of the court case. We do have an order (for the reversal of the transfer of the site) and we arrived at it without making argument in court,” said Shandu.

Shandu said they would be back in court in two weeks to argue the department’s decision to sell the site.

A domestic worker, pensioner Landezwa Magabadela, 67, who participated in a march organised by Ndifuna Ukwazi at the provincial legislature yesterday, said she was desperate to live in a house built by the province because space where she now lives is limited.

“I can’t even live with my children in the cottage because it is too small,” she said.

She added that the provincial government should agree to reverse the sale of the site and build housing units.

Magabadela, who was joined by more than 50 domestic workers and people living and working in Sea Point, said she had been living in Sea Point since 1976.

Grant’s spokesperson, Siphesihle Dube, also adopted Zille’s stance, saying Grant was unable to respond due to the matter being sub judice.

“The matter is now sub judice. We are therefore unable to comment on the matter.”

RTC spokesperson Kopano Maroga said the tender documents would show that the sale was “unjust and unreasonable”.

Standing committee on transport and public works member Cameron Dugmore is also seeking to have the sale of the site debated as an urgent matter of public importance.

carlo.petersen@inl.co.za

sandiso.phaliso@inl.co.za