DA ‘water tanker mafia’ billboard removed in Durban after legal threat - IOL
A DA billboard featuring ANC eThekwini officials was removed after the municipality’s attorneys demanded its removal, while the DA continues to defend the campaign message.
The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) controversial “water tanker mafia” billboard has been removed, days after eThekwini municipal officials threatened legal action over the campaign message.
The billboard, erected along the N2 near Newlands East, featured images of eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba, City Manager Musa Mbhele and Water and Sanitation Executive Director Ednick Msweli alongside the words “water tanker mafia”.
The billboard was reportedly removed by the advertising company after it became aware of the threat of legal action over its contents.
The eThekwini Municipality had objected to the billboard, saying it was defamatory and damaged the dignity and reputation of the officials depicted.
The municipality’s attorneys had demanded that the billboard be removed within 24 hours and that the DA issue a public apology, warning that legal action would follow if the demands were not met.
The DA, however, had maintained that the billboard was part of its campaign to hold the municipality accountable for water service delivery and had questioned why it was taken down.
The municipality has welcomed the billboard’s removal, saying those who serve the City must be able to carry out their responsibilities without their integrity being undermined.
"The removal of this billboard is welcomed. Those who serve this City, whether as elected leaders or as appointed officials, must be allowed to discharge their responsibilities with their integrity intact," Mbhele said.
"Robust political contestation is part of our democracy, but it must never descend into the defamation of individuals who are accountable to the public and bound by the law in how they respond."
The DA has continued to defend the billboard, saying it was aimed at raising questions about water service delivery in eThekwini. The party has questioned the circumstances surrounding the board's removal and said residents should be able to hold the municipality accountable for the city’s water challenges.
"Officials in the government of eThekwini are so scared of accountability that they don’t want you to see a billboard that exposes the city’s water tanker mafia," the party's Mayoral Candidate Haniff Hoosen said.
"The DA's position was clear: we were not willing to remove the billboard, yet despite this, the billboard has been taken down. The city has chosen to fight a billboard, threatening legal action to defend incompetence, rather than spending the money on fixing the pipes."
