The DA has filed court papers challenging allegations that it labelled senior eThekwini Municipality officials as part of a "water tanker mafia" on a billboard.
The DA's court papers were filed in response to papers lodged by Mayor Cyril Xaba, City Manager Musa Mbhele and Technical Director Ednick Msweli. The three applied for an urgent interdict at the Durban High Court, arguing that a billboard and statements issued by the DA had damaged their reputations by accusing them of being involved in criminal activity.
The DA recently put up a billboard featuring the three leaders' faces. The words "You can stop the water tanker mafia" appeared across their faces. In their court papers, the three officials said the billboard, together with a statement issued by the DA that had been widely circulated, had publicly maligned them. They demanded that the statement be retracted, the billboard be taken down and an apology be issued within 14 days. The matter will be heard in court today (Thursday).
In its court papers, the DA said the claim that the billboard accused the officials of criminality was incorrect.
"The DA issued a press statement on the same day. It explained why the three appeared on the billboard: 'Because the water crisis has worsened under their leadership. They are accountable for failing to repair the system that has made eThekwini increasingly dependent on tankers. If they did their jobs, we would not be at the mercy of a water tanker mafia in this city.' That is the DA's message," the court papers state.
"The applicants read the billboard as an accusation that they are the mafia. That is not what the billboard says or means. The DA's attorneys pointed out the obvious meaning of the billboard within a day: it accuses the applicants of failing to stop the mafia, not of being the mafia.
"The publications do not bear the meanings pleaded. The ordinary reader of an election billboard understands it as electioneering: the current leadership has failed to end the tanker economy, but voters can do so. Vote DA to end the tanker economy by changing the leadership that presides over it. The press statement says so expressly. The first video distinguishes the mafia from 'the three faces' in the same breath," the court papers state.
The DA's court papers argue that the requirements for an interdict, whether final or interim, had not been met.
"There is no clear or prima facie right, no irreparable harm, a balance of convenience that favours a gag on political speech during an election, and alternative remedies that the applicants have already used and promise to use again."
The DA added that the officials did not deny the facts stated in its press statement, including the alleged 13,000 leaks and the claim that 21 billion litres of water were lost.
In a statement, the DA said it was ready to defend its position when the matter was heard in the Durban High Court on Thursday morning.
"Our position is clear: the mayor, city manager and senior official responsible for water and sanitation occupy the most powerful positions of political and administrative accountability in eThekwini.
"The DA will fight this tooth and nail. The billboard, which was removed without the DA's approval, is a call to action. It calls on those with the power to act, including the people of eThekwini, to stop the water tanker mafia and restore water to the city's taps."