RULING ON FLOOR CROSSING

9 October 2002

After months of speculation and uncertainty, the Constitutional Court has made a ruling on the floor crossing legislation. At this stage, the ruling has particular significance to the local sphere of government. The defection of members of various political parties has begun to happen or is now eminent. The city welcomes the ruling of the Constitutional Court on floor crossing. The African National Congress (ANC) is ready to announce that four members of other parties have joined us and many more are poised to come into its ranks.

In this Council, we may come from different political parties but we have always maintained that we have to work together to speed up the process of service delivery. The impending defections from opposition parties are a positive indication that the ANC's united approach in improving service delivery excellence irrespective of political affiliation has made a positive impact on fellow Councillors.

The ruling of the Constitutional Court is another blow to a beleaguered opposition party that is in a crisis. We are confident that the people of the Cape Town will now experience a stable political environment.

Although we would not be able to publish the names of Councillors who want to defect to the ANC as per the ruling of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), we believe that we have a responsibility to keep the public informed of the.

Our commitment to build a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist, prosperous and united society, continues to attract greater numbers of people into our fold and help deepen unity from within our ranks. The overwhelming majority of our people demand that we as a mass based organisation, should continue to consolidate the gains of the national democratic revolution.

In the ANC, we have a particular understanding that Councillors, who will be crossing the floor, are not doing so for personal gain. They do so because of conviction and a commitment to serve, address poverty and racism, and inequality to create a better life for all. They want to participate in the building of a common destiny for our city and all its people.

Undoubtedly, the ruling of the Constitutional Court has far reaching implications for the political landscape.

We remain conscious of and committed to the deepening of democracy, transparency and accountability.

All the names the Councillors who will be crossing the floor will be published after the window period has expired in two weeks time.

For additional information, please contact:

Kgotso Chikane
Spokesperson for the Executive Mayor
Tel: (011) 407-7558
Fax: (011) 339-5704
Cell: 082 464 9446
Email: Kgotsoc@ joburg.org.za