Friday, 24 January 2025.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) notes with serious concern the raid conducted by the Police Commercial Crimes Unit on the offices of Democratic Alliance (DA) Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith. This is said to be part of an  investigation into housing tender fraud within the City of Cape Town, exposing yet another layer of corruption within the DA administration.

The raid comes as part of ongoing probes into fraudulent activities in the construction sector, with investigators targeting the offices of Mayoral Committee Members JP Smith and Xanthea Limberg. This follows charges of fraud already laid against Malusi Booi and others, the former DA Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, linked to tenders valued at over R1 billion. The DA-led municipality has now been implicated in what can only be described as a deep and systemic web of corruption, especially within the housing and construction sectors.

This corruption is particularly damning, given the crisis of housing backlogs and infrastructure failures affecting the people of Cape Town. It is no coincidence that these allegations emerge in the same sector plagued by the  “construction mafia” and protection rackets. The EFF has long maintained that political elements are behind this phenomenon, and these raids validate our assertions. The DA’s administration has not only failed to provide leadership in addressing this crisis but has seemingly facilitated criminality and collusion at the expense of the people it claims to serve.

This is not an isolated incident. Just last October, allegations of tender corruption surfaced regarding a R186 million urban waste management tender involving senior managers within the City of Cape Town. These repeated scandals in one municipality expose the DA’s false claims of clean governance and confirm that corruption is entrenched within their ranks.

The raid on JP Smith’s office also comes in the wake of another case of corruption involving the DA, where the EFF had to open a case against DA Minister Dan Macpherson for interfering in the Independent Development Trust (IDT) to manipulate financial processes for corrupt purposes. This pattern of behaviour within the DA demonstrates that they are no different from those they hypocritically criticise. They are shamelessly abusing public office for personal and political gain.

The EFF calls for the swift and thorough prosecution of all those implicated in corruption within the City of Cape Town and the Democratic Alliance at large. We demand transparency in these investigations, as they reveal the true nature of the DA’s governance model: one that prioritises profit and patronage over accountability and service delivery.

We further call on the people of Cape Town, and South Africans at large, to reject the DA and its fraudulent claims of good governance. Corruption in housing and construction, sectors that are vital to resolving the urgent needs of our people, is not just a betrayal—it is a direct attack on the dignity and livelihoods of the poor.

The EFF will continue to expose and challenge the corruption that is rife within the DA, and we stand with the people of Cape Town in demanding justice and accountability from this failing municipality.

ISSUED BY THE ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Leigh-Ann Mathys (National Spokesperson) 082 304 7572

Thato Lebyane (Media Enquiries) 078 304 7572