The African National Congress (ANC) says the Democratic Alliance (DA) does not like black people - and this is the reason why the DA-led government in the Western Cape has returned about R200-million, meant for upgrading informal settlements, back to the fiscus.

The DA will also this week forge ahead with what the ANC terms "illegal" public hearings for the Western Cape Powers Bill, to bring apartheid back via the backdoor.

This was the view of the leader of the opposition in the Western Cape, Cameron Dugmore, when he spoke to journalists during a press briefing at the ongoing ANC national executive committee meeting in Birchwood, Ekurhuleni, on Sunday.

"So many times, the city and province get money for housing, and they don't spend the money... they have to hand it back because they don't want to upgrade informal settlements," Dugmore said.

He added:

It's as true as that - it's simple, the DA does not like black people. That is what we are facing... in the premier's office, two out of 65 senior managers are black, as well as under-representation of the coloured community.

Dugmore added that the Powers Bill was so flawed it should be referred to as a "pamphlet".

The ANC in the Western Cape recently roped in its alliance partners to push back on the bill.

Dugmore said legal action was one of the options being considered, including referring the matter to the Auditor General (AG). 

The bill, introduced in May 2023, aims to empower capable provincial and local governments to address issues where the national government still needs to deliver services to Western Cape residents.

Through the bill, the Western Cape government intends to assert its existing provincial and local powers, while seeking the delegation or assignment of additional powers in areas such as policing, public transport (including municipal public transport), energy (including electricity generation, transmission and reticulation), trade (including international trade), and harbours (including national harbours).

The bill will also create a mechanism for the Western Cape legislature to introduce national legislation in the National Council of Provinces through its delegates.

The DA insists that it is part of its commitment to expand the federal autonomy for capable provincial and local governments and to empower it to manage devolved functions from the national government.

Dugmore made the comments as the ANC in the Western picked up its campaign for the 2024 elections. 

Dugmore said the ANC in the Western Cape was aware that the DA's "double standards" in its stance on the Palestine-Israel conflict had angered voters, particularly in the Muslim community, and that the ANC was ready to welcome those voters.

"People are seeing these things, and we are seeing that there is a strong anti-DA sentiment because of their contradictions and double standards, and the decision not to condemn the genocide. That has a huge impact," Dugmore said.  

The DA's Tertuis Simmers told News24 the funds which the province had received as part of the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant had been returned to the National Treasury due to the construction mafia stalling projects, community unrest and illegal land invasions.

"The funds earmarked for such projects cannot be spent in a financial year. In previous years, a rollover would be granted, but due to the current state of our economy, brought on by 30 years of ANC looting, rollovers are not approved," Simmers said.

Responding to Dugmore's allegations that the DA had shown double standards as far as the Israel-Palestine conflict is concerned, Simmers said: "The DA Western Cape concurs with our party's national position on the war between Israel and Hamas as well as the Russia/Ukraine war, a position conveyed in our legislature on numerous occasions. Any lives lost on either side of the war is one life too many."