Statement by the City’s Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille, on the
defection of Grant Pascoe
I have just learned that the Mayoral Committee Member for Tourism, Events
and Marketing (TEAM), Councillor Grant Pascoe, has changed his political
affiliation from the Democratic Alliance (DA) to the African National Congress
(ANC). As he has chosen to take this action before doing me the courtesy of
informing me, I can only assume that he has chosen to find a new political
home due to his inability to live up to the standards required of DA public
representatives.
His performance has included the following:
1. He frequently did not attend meetings of the City’s political and
administrative leadership
2. For those meetings he did attend, his preparation was poor to nonexistent, resulting in his inability to contribute in any meaningful way
3. His political management of the TEAM directorate was exceptionally
poor
4. He had no concept of the City’s strategic framework or policy direction
5. He had no understanding or interest in City processes, such as supply
chain or budget procedures
6. He had no meaningful contributions to make about his constituency in
Mitchells Plain
The May 2014 elections will result in the strong possibility that several Mayoral
Committee Members would need to be replaced upon moving to either the
national or provincial parliaments. This would have meant an opportunity for
a Mayoral Committee reshuffle, at which time it was my intention to dismiss
Cllr. Pascoe. His appraisals in the Mayoral dashboard system and the
numerous queries against his performance as the oversight authority over
TEAM suggest to me that he was aware that action was about to be taken
against his sub-par performance and that he has acted accordingly.
It is of interest to me that Cllr. Pascoe has chosen to join the ANC. In response
to the ANC’s position on Employment Equity, Mr. Pascoe released a
statement on 24 February, 2011 in which he said:
‘The bottom line is this: there is no such thing as too many coloureds (or
whites, or Indians, or blacks)! There are only South Africans. The ANC must
stop its obsession with race, and start focusing on creating opportunities –
especially for the poor – so that all our people are able to improve their lives.’
In light of the above, it is difficult to see anything beyond naked
opportunism in such a once strident critic of the ANC so quickly joining them. I
certainly hope that any future constituents of Cllr. Pascoe’s remember his
points of principle, or lack thereof.
Cllr. Pascoe will be formally informed that he is immediately dismissed from
the Mayoral Committee. All other party procedures will be handled by the
relevant DA structures.