At a City of Cape Town monthly council meeting on Wednesday 28 May, as councillor for Ward 84, Somerset West, I spoke to a motion dealing with the Sir Lowry’s Pass and surrounds Local Spatial Development Framework (LSDF).
This LSDF will provide policy certainty about the built environment and ongoing development regulations for the residents in the area.
A councillor speaking before me on the matter caused a rumpus in council when his remarks, which had nothing to do with the matter at hand, insulted many councillors on the opposition benches. He was asked to either withdraw his remarks or to leave the chamber. He refused to withdraw or to leave the chamber, so he was bodily removed by the security detail on duty at the council meeting.
An unfortunate narrative on social media suggests I was speaking in favour of an upcoming development in Gordon’s Bay, which is in Ward 100, not in Ward 84. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The narrative further suggests removing him from the council chamber was the wrong thing to do. In terms of the rules of order the Speaker acted entirely appropriately in the circumstances.
In my introduction I set the record straight, debunking the previous councillor’s observations and his remarks entirely.
I recommended the approval of the Sir Lowry’s Pass and surrounds LSDF, and it was adopted by council, in this way acquitting myself of my obligations as the resident councillor of Ward 84.
Norman McFarlane,
WARD 84 Councillor
