Minister Madikizela's Response to Lwandle Inquiry Report Factual Inaccuracies | Western Cape Government

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Minister Madikizela's Response to Lwandle Inquiry Report Factual Inaccuracies

9 October 2014

The Western Cape Government, particularly the Department of Human Settlements notes the comments made by Minister Sisulu and Advocate Denzil Potgieter at the handover of the Lwandle Ministerial Inquiry report in parliament today. We will review the report once it has been sent to us by Minister Sisulu and will then formally respond to its findings.

The fact is that the provincial government has stated, from the outset, that it was not involved in the SANRAL evictions. However, the province and the City posed a number of questions to Minister Sisulu when she appointed the ministerial inquiry in June including what was the legal basis on which the inquiry was established, what was the process used to do so; why Intergovernmental procedures had not been followed as required by the Constitution and the law; and why inquiries have not been established to investigate the many brutal evictions that have occurred throughout the country since the Lwandle eviction. To date these have not been answered by the National Minister.

Despite the fact that the provincial government was not involved in the evictions and Minister Sisulu failed to answer our questions regarding the establishment, motives and composition of the Inquiry, the provincial department of human settlements still made a written submission to the Inquiry on the 27th of June 2014, stating very clearly its minimal involvement in the eviction. Therefore I find the statements by Advocate Potgieter nonsensical, (to use Minister Sisulu’s exact words) that the provincial government and the City refused to co-operate with the Inquiry’s investigation. 

It would have been ironic for the Department of Human Settlements to question the legitimacy of the commission and then legitimize it by appearing before it, I therefore reject the assertion by Advocate Potgieter that our non-cooperation had any material impact on the work or findings of the commission thereafter.

Media Enquiries: 
Zalisile Mbali
Spokesperson for Bonginkosi Madikizela, Western Cape Minister of Human Settlements
Tel: 021 483 4798
Cell: 078 600 7729