The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Eastern Cape will be laying criminal charges against an individual who allegedly tried to bribe DA councillors in the run-up to a recent Nelson Mandela Bay council meeting.
This meeting, which took place last week Thursday, 28 January 2021, was of great importance to the Metro as it sole focus was to elect an Executive Mayor for Nelson Mandela Bay.
During this council meeting DA councillor Nqaba Bhanga was re-elected as Mayor after first being elected on 4 December 2020.
In a desperate effort to win back power, the ANC and Patriotic Alliance (PA) showed how morally bankrupt they are by nominating and supporting an EFF mayoral candidate to run the affairs of the city.
They were in fact so desperate that messages were sent to DA councillors in an effort to bribe them and influence their votes.
Between 2018 and 2020 the ANC, under the banner of the so called black caucus, assembled governing coalitions which crippled service delivery. During this time there were political assassinations linked to drain cleaning tenders and serious allegations of corruption.
It has been alleged for some time that a criminal syndicate linked to certain ANC politicians, their business cronies and civil servants, has looted the Metro for years. Recent arrests by the Hawks have highlighted the extent to which a corrupt criminal syndicate have influenced decision making in the City.
Any attempt to bribe a public representative is illegal and a direct threat to our democratic system. That is why today I will be laying criminal charges against Mr Neville Higgins, who allegedly tried to bribe DA councillors, in terms of the Prevention of Corrupt Activities Act.
I will also write to Head of the Hawks, General Godfrey Lebeya, to bring this matter to his personal attention. The police must investigate possible links that convicted criminal Andile Lungisa and PA Cllr Marlon Daniels have to this bribery scandal. The source of the alleged funds that were offered as a bribe must be found.
The DA and its coalition partners are bringing good governance, accountability and service delivery back to the Metro.
Together we can take Nelson Mandela Bay forward again!