Cape Town - Good Party secretary-general Brett Herron has lodged a criminal complaint against Cape Town mayor Dan Plato, for allegedly flouting lockdown regulations.
Herron said he lodged the complaint against Plato, for hosting a series of at least 24 gatherings on Tuesday evening, celebrating the ‘Mayoral Community Service Awards’ – less than 48 hours after President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation, announcing a total prohibition of gatherings due to the resurgent Covid-19 pandemic.
Police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut said they were investigating.
“This office can confirm that a criminal case, relating to the regulations of the Disaster Management Act, was reported at Cape Town Central today. The circumstances surrounding the matter are being investigated,” he said.
This, is as Herron said the events were attended by award recipients and councillors, in person, instead of being hosted virtually.
Plato's spokesperson, Greg Wagner maintained on Thursday that the original event – that was to host 50 guests at each of the venues, in compliance with level 3 regulations, was cancelled – following the announcement of the level 4 regulations.
“As previously mentioned, there was no gathering and the mayor’s speech was recorded so that it could be shared with the recipients at a later stage, as the sit down dinner was cancelled. Recipients collected their awards from each of the sub council offices and as there was no event, they left immediately after collecting their awards,” he said.
He did not respond to requests for comment on the criminal complaint.
Herron added that Plato’s actions placed the City’s speedy pathway out of the hard lockdown in “jeopardy”, and risked a delayed reopening of businesses in the restaurant and hospitality sector.
“In a bizarre concession to lockdown regulations, instead of those attending the gatherings enjoying sit-down meals, they were invited to attend the awards in person, but then given takeaways to eat later in safety. It defies belief, with the country in the grips of a highly contagious resurgence of the third wave of the Covid-19 virus, that the mayor and City of Cape Town should rank political aspirations above citizens’ health.
“He contravened the law on the same day that the Constitutional Court ruled in the Jacob Zuma matter – that nobody was above the law. Plato is incompetent and should resign. I expect the police and NPA to act swiftly in investigating and prosecuting the complaint,” he said.
Cape Times