Cape Town Mayor Defends Smith, Limberg Amid Fraud Allegations

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says there is a marked difference between the suspension of former Mayco Member for Human Settlements, Malusi Booi and a recent raid at the offices of Mayco Members, JP Smith and Xanthea Limberg.

Hill-Lewis says there is insufficient evidence at this stage to justify the removal of the councillors from the Mayoral Committee.

Police are probing tender fraud in the construction sector within the Cape Town municipality.

Hill-Lewis says Boois case which is before the courts compelled him to act. In the previous case, on the day of the search warrant execution, I received a detailed briefing about the evidence that was in place already. It was the evidence around the school fees being paid, the transactions around Louis Vuitton - all the things that have now come out in court. All the things that were shown to me on that first day. And it was so shocking to me obviously. I had never seen or heard about that before but the big difference here is that there is a marked difference in the substantiation the corroboration of the evidence that has been put before me is the difference.

Opposition parties in the City of Cape Town are calling for the immediate suspension of the two Mayoral Committee Members. Smith is the Mayco member for Safety and Security as well as the deputy Federal Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance DAs national structure.