Badroodien ‘ashamed’ over meter tampering

FORMER mayco member for water and sanitation Zahid Badroodien said he felt ashamed and embarrassed following the revelations that the electricity meter at his property had been tampered with.

Badroodien stepped down from his position, but remains an ordinary councillor for his ward until the disciplinary hearing is finalised.

Speaking to the Weekend Argus in Athlone yesterday, he said the issue was out of his control.

“I know people look at me, the position I hold and say many things. I am a little bit embarrassed and this is a difficult time for me, especially how this is impacting my parents.”

He said the matter came as a shock when he was informed by council Speaker Felicity Purchase in January. He went to his parents to seek an explanation as he only applied for the bond and was not aware of the meter box issue.

“When the officials came, I called my parents because they were the ones to answer the questions as they carried out the renovations and building. I only moved into the house after the 2021 local elections and the inspectors came immediately.”

He said his parents had already paid the contravention amount of over R15 000 and now he was waiting for the disciplinary hearing where he could formally be told how much he owes and what contravention he committed.

Badroodien didn’t want to entertain reports that there was a fallout within the DA caucus and that there was someone who wanted him out, saying their caucus leader Geordin Hill-Lewis worked hard to unite the caucus. His department has a budget of around R2 billion.

He did, however, hint that if he had to fight someone from within the party he would gracefully exit politics.

Councillor Ian Nielson will chair the disciplinary committee and one of the names that appear as part of the panel is councillor Nora Grose, who is out on R10 000 bail for charges of misappropriation of funds meant for Covid-19 relief.

However, Grose said she would not be part of the panel. “My name should not be there, because I resigned,” she said.

Purchase added that the list was not updated which was why Grose’s name still appears. “Further note that (Grose) has voluntarily recused herself from the DC hearing (Badroodien) is set to face; nor has she presided over any DC hearings since the inception of council in November 2021.”

V&A WATERFRONT has been accused of prioritising motorists over pedestrians following the removal of a pedestrian crossing on Dock Road linking Battery Park and the Waterfront.

A petition has been filed by pedestrians saying the Waterfront had taken an undemocratic decision and gone in a direction that was undermining the pedestrian-friendly environment.

“With the sudden and hasty removal of the crossing with no public input, let alone from the thousands of working-class pedestrians that make use of the pedestrian crossing when coming from their place of work and the CBD, there has been a big U-turn on what made it so caring, safe and transformational,” said Roland Postma from Young Urbanists South Africa.

Statistics SA revealed 17.44million South Africans walking to their various destinations, followed by 10.7 million who made use of taxis and 6.2 million who used cars or trucks as a driver.

“Half of South Africans do not own a car and our plans call for our dependency away from private transportation,” said Sindile Mavundla, self-proclaimed bicycle mayor of Cape Town. “This removal doesn't make sense, it is irrational, dangerous and indifferent to our plans as a country.”

Vusi Nondo, V&A Waterfront development executive defended the decision and said they strived to maintain a pedestrian-friendly environment, while accommodating the often high number of vehicles that traversed the property.

“The decision to remove the pedestrian crossing was made to achieve a more optimal balance between efficient pedestrian and vehicle movement at a very busy junction on the property,” he said.

“Pedestrians have two options to cross Dock Road, which are both near the former crossing.

“First, at the signalised intersection, where a pedestrian push button is available to activate the pedestrian phase and enables pedestrians to cross.

“Second, pedestrians can use the underpass located a few metres away in the opposite direction, which passes beneath Dock Road, to cross the road.

“We believe this is a balanced decision that takes into consideration the various factors at play.”