ANC wants vote on new branding plans for Cape Town

The ANC would vote against the proposal when it comes before council today, it said.

The existing logo and payoff line.

If approved by the council, the implementation of the new corporate identity would be phased in over a number of years, Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille said.

The Western Cape is the only province not governed by the ANC, which has been staging protests in the city, in what are seen as attempts to destabilise the government of the Democratic Alliance (DA). The ANC said there were more "urgent matters" the city needed to address than rebranding.

The party said it had also written to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela asking her to investigate the processes followed when the logo and payoff line were considered.

De Lille called a media briefing yesterday after weeks of speculation, with some reports suggesting the city had spent millions of rand redesigning the logo and payoff line. There were also suggestions that it had not consulted widely enough.

She said contrary to widespread reports, the city had spent R313,720 on the design.

De Lille said efforts had been made to consult with the administrative and political leadership.

Cape Town's current logo features Table Mountain and the payoff line, "The City works For You", and De Lille believed it instilled a culture of dependency and did not match the city's strategic direction.

The proposed new logo design, which has attracted a great deal of comment, much of it vociferously negative.

The mayor said this positioning was the antithesis of what the DA-led administration stands for, in that it implies a "passive government-citizen relationship".

The proposed new payoff line, "Making progress possible. Together", spoke to a city that was "working towards empowering its diverse citizens to make the most of the opportunities and help that we provide - to enable them to take control of their lives".

The proposed logo again features Table Mountain and has a circular shape which "infers the coming together of communities ... (and) represents our inclusive nature, government, residents and the public sector working in collaboration". De Lille said a final decision on the logo and payoff line would be made on 18 May after the general election.

ANC leader in council Tony Ehrenreich said it was a "waste of time and money" to design the new logo and payoff line. "There are more urgent matters that the city needs to address. The money could have been used to help the poor with housing and sanitation."

The ANC would call for a referendum to be held to decide if residents supported the new logo and payoff line, he said.

Source: Business Day, via I-Net Bridge