Premier rejects ANC’s false statements on proposed amendments

Premier Helen Zille has rejected the provincial ANC’s false statements on the proposed amendments to the Provincial Constitution currently before the Western Cape Provincial Parliament Standing Committee for consideration.

The ANC is trying to spread the lie that these amendments will introduce a new tax in the Western Cape. This is not true, as the amendments do not provide additional powers for taxation, but merely seek to clarify the term “money Bill” and to align the Provincial Constitution wording to section 120 of the national Constitution, as amended in 2001.

Premier Zille said: “The ANC’s comments ahead of the Provincial Parliament Standing Committee meeting shows the party’s inability to grasp both legislative and parliamentary matters. The ANC is so desperate to deflect attention away from the crippling corruption it is involved in, that it resorts to spreading lies to deliberately manufacture outrage.”

This morning’s briefing relates to the Western Cape First Amendment Bill, 2018, first published by the Provincial Parliament on 12 September 2018 in the Provincial Gazette.

The Amendment Bill seeks to align the Western Cape Provincial Constitution with various amendments made to the National Constitution.

This alignment of wording as proposed by the Bill is as follows:

Premier Zille added: “The ANC is delusional. The extract from the presentation delivered by my Department today shows how ill informed the ANC is when it comes to matters of government.”

Public comment, however, disproportionately emanated from a specific website which encouraged its users to submit comment based on a summary which provided misinformation, such as:

-       Money Bills and taxes give the Western Cape Government the right to impose additional charges or taxes on the citizens of the Province; and

-       Intervention in local government give the Western Cape Government the same powers as the National Government, by empowering it to appoint an administrator.

“We look forward to the scrutiny of the Standing Committee over the process and trust that the Committee will be able to distinguish the facts from the ANC’s delusions and other forms of misinformation,” Premier Zille concluded.