DA vs Sunday Times: forceful Zille clears the air

"Someone, somewhere with an agenda leaked a particular document - one document out of many - at a particular phase of the process to make it look like there was something regulatorily wrong or untoward with the tender. [This person] sought to give an impression of no due process or corruption, which was not the case."

These were the fighting words of Western Cape premier Helen Zille at a press conference on Wednesday, 17 August 2011. She convened it to give the provincial government's side of the story after the Sunday Times published a story alleging procedural irregularity in a communications tender issued by the Western Cape government to TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris.

According to Zille, there is absolutely no truth in the suggestion that there was anything improper or unprocedural in awarding the tender. The Sunday Times reached this conclusion be relying on one document which didn't give the full picture. Using this one document, the weekly paper could indeed construe that there was something problematic about the deal.

Continue reading the full story on www.thedailymaverick.co.za.

See also:

• Politicsweb: Western Cape Government's communications tender - the comprehensive story (full statement containing timeline of events)
  
• Talk Radio 702: podcast of Helen Zille vs Ray Hartley debate
  
• Twitter Search: Zille "Sunday Times"