On Friday, 23 July 2021, Speaker Masizole Mnqasela held a virtual meeting with Speakers from the various municipalities in the Western Cape as well as leaders of political parties represented in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) to discuss the recent incidences of looting, violence and attacks on property and people which occurred in other provinces, and their effects on governance structures in the Western Cape.
The consensus of the meeting was that all public representatives need to unite beyond the realms of party-political affiliation to protect the people of the province, their property and other constitutional rights, and ensure that the violence that occurred in other parts of the country does not spill over into the Western Cape.
“We need to support the governance structures having to deal with these threats and, as the legislative arms of our respective institutions, not sit back and be spectators when there are these serious risks to our wellbeing on many fronts”, said Mnqasela.
Speaker Mnqasela also encouraged Speakers at local government level to initiate an inclusive approach to dealing with problems in their respective councils, to ensure unity and peace in societies, justice, stability, and law and order. In this regard, Speaker Mnqasela advanced the idea that municipal Speakers consider establishing multiparty forums in their respective jurisdictions to deal with matters of mutual concern in a non-partisan manner.
Constructive discussions were held regarding the effect of the looting and violence that took place in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng and experiences were shared among the different regions in the province in this regard. It was emphasised that factually correct information be shared to avoid fearmongering among the people of the province and unnecessary tension through the spreading of fake news.
Constructive contributions were also made on the current taxi violence plaguing certain parts of the province and how the disputes are being managed by the relevant authorities. The meeting acknowledged that it is crucially important that the safe transportation of our people be restored as soon as possible, given the impact of safe and secure public transportation on the livelihoods of the majority of the citizens in the province.
“There was consensus that meetings of this nature between the province and municipalities on matters of mutual concern, be held on a regular basis in order to not only advance cooperative government among the local and provincial spheres, but also to contribute to the wellbeing of the citizens at grass roots level, deepen our democracy and foster a whole of society approach.” said Mnqasela.
