Helen Zille was prevented from leaving the Johannesburg metro center’s premises on Thursday. (Photo: Provided)
Helen Zille, the DA’s mayoral candidate in Johannesburg, was initially prevented on Thursday from paying an overview visit to the dilapidated Johannesburg metro center and then allegedly stopped from leaving the premises.
The DA says the actions are extremely worrying and raise serious questions about what the ANC-EFF-PA-Al Jama-ah-ActionSA-AIC coalition government is trying to hide.
Kyle Jacobs, Zille’s spokesperson, says she wanted to pay an overview visit to the metro center together with councilors and a member of parliament to determine the condition of the building, as well as where and how residents’ building plans and other sensitive records are currently stored.
The centre, once known as the Johannesburg civic centre, stands empty and dilapidated.
Jacobs says the gate on the ground floor of the building was open when the team arrived and they entered the building.
“Subsequently, duly elected public representatives were chased by security guards who prevented them from carrying out their legitimate oversight responsibilities.
“When the DA team left the building, they were prevented from leaving the premises by security personnel, while they called the metro police.
“It amounted to forced detention without any legal basis,” claims Jacobs.
The DA says that Leah Potgieter, the party’s former mayoral member for economic development, in collaboration with engineers has previously confirmed that the building is still structurally safe.
“Despite this, the current administration vacated the building and instead rented office space, costing the city millions of rand.”
Jacobs says the coalition government is now busy with plans to demolish the existing building and build a new metro center at an estimated cost of more than R2 billion. Meanwhile, it is projected that construction work on a new center could take up to ten years.
“In light of these disproportionate expenditures, the refusal to allow review is sinister and undemocratic, especially as billions in public money are at stake.”
However, the DA is not going to let him be deterred, says Jacobs.
“We will continue to pursue all available channels to expose the truth behind the metro center, including the handling of sensitive records, the justification for the relocation costs, and the rationale for the proposed demolition and rebuilding. As the city prepares to table its budget for the new fiscal year, residents deserve full transparency about how their money is being spent, not secrecy that favors connected cadres at their expense.”
“The DA demands immediate answers and full disclosure from the City of Johannesburg.”