Badih Chaaban
Encyclopedia
Badih Chabaan is a PR councillor in the Cape Town
City Council
(Subcouncil 17 (Athlone & District)). He was a member of the Africa Muslim Party
(AMP) when he was named councillor in August 2006 but later crossed the floor to establish the National People's Party
(NPP), which Chabaan leads as president. His entry into the council was greeted by controversy when it was revealed that he had corrupt business dealings which included his dubious contract with the city to lease Greenmarket Square which he concluded in 1998 when the African National Congress
(ANC) ran the city council.
Chabaan made headlines in January 2007 when it was revealed that he plotted with the ANC to topple the DA-led coalition led by Mayor Helen Zille
in return for securing her position. His failed plot resulted in the AMP being expelled as a partner in the DA-led coalition. However, Chabaan did not stop there as he paid bribes to city council members in advance of the controversial floor crossing window in September 2007 with the aim of taking over the city with the support of the ANC by his forming of a new political party, the National People's Party
(NPP). Chabaan's outlandish plan was for 50 DA and ID city councillors to cross the floor during the window period when he had offered bribes, jobs and other forms of compensation in return for their defection. His grandiose plan to take over Cape Town had floundered when only four city councillors crossed the floor to his NPP in September 2007 including Chabaan himself.
However his bribes and threats to various city council members was subject to a controversial private investigation spearheaded by mayor Helen Zille which uncovered various plots and conspiracies but was subject to criticism when wire-tapping was allegedly used to spy on various city councillors in the so-called Spygate affair that was the subject of the Erasmus Commission
of inquiry into the city's investigations that was instituted by the ANC provincial government in the Western Cape
. The city's own disciplinary committee in October 2007 recommended that Badih Chabaan be expelled from the city council on charges of corruption and bringing disrepute to the council by his many antics at disrupting council meetings. However the ANC-controlled Western Cape provincial government under MEC of local government Richard Dyantyi
who has the real power to expel a standing councillor upon the city's recommendation, decided not to expel Chabaan until pending the outcome of the Erasmus Commission after he ordered a probe into Chabaan's behaviour. However months after the city successfully had the commission declared illegal in court, in November 2008, the new ANC MEC of local government Pierre Uys refused to remove Chabaan. The Cape Town city council under Zille then threatened the provincial government with legal recourse if the MEC didn't act by the end of January 2009.
In 2008 after a tense standoff with Chabaan the city council successfully had him removed from Greenmarket Square after the council nullified the dubious lease contract under which Chabaan had extorted money from the square's 200 street vendors and he has continued to do so even after the lease was suspended. City Police had to be called in enforce Chabaan's removal from the square.
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
City Council
Cape Town City Council
The City Council is the legislative body of the City of Cape Town. It is composed of 221 councillors elected by a system of mixed member proportional representation. 111 councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting, one from each of the 111 electoral wards of the City, while the other 110...
(Subcouncil 17 (Athlone & District)). He was a member of the Africa Muslim Party
Africa Muslim Party
The Africa Muslim Party is a South African Muslim political party. It was founded in 1994, with Gulam Sabdia as Chairman and Imtiaz Suleman as national leader, and competed in the 1994 elections with few votes to account for...
(AMP) when he was named councillor in August 2006 but later crossed the floor to establish the National People's Party
National People's Party
National People's Party may refer to:* National Peoples Party* Rashtriya Janata Dal* Rashtriya Lok Dal* National People's Party...
(NPP), which Chabaan leads as president. His entry into the council was greeted by controversy when it was revealed that he had corrupt business dealings which included his dubious contract with the city to lease Greenmarket Square which he concluded in 1998 when the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
(ANC) ran the city council.
Chabaan made headlines in January 2007 when it was revealed that he plotted with the ANC to topple the DA-led coalition led by Mayor Helen Zille
Helen Zille
Helen Zille is the Premier of the Western Cape, a member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, leader of South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance political party, and a former Mayor of Cape Town.Zille is a former journalist and anti-apartheid activist, and famously exposed the truth...
in return for securing her position. His failed plot resulted in the AMP being expelled as a partner in the DA-led coalition. However, Chabaan did not stop there as he paid bribes to city council members in advance of the controversial floor crossing window in September 2007 with the aim of taking over the city with the support of the ANC by his forming of a new political party, the National People's Party
National People's Party
National People's Party may refer to:* National Peoples Party* Rashtriya Janata Dal* Rashtriya Lok Dal* National People's Party...
(NPP). Chabaan's outlandish plan was for 50 DA and ID city councillors to cross the floor during the window period when he had offered bribes, jobs and other forms of compensation in return for their defection. His grandiose plan to take over Cape Town had floundered when only four city councillors crossed the floor to his NPP in September 2007 including Chabaan himself.
However his bribes and threats to various city council members was subject to a controversial private investigation spearheaded by mayor Helen Zille which uncovered various plots and conspiracies but was subject to criticism when wire-tapping was allegedly used to spy on various city councillors in the so-called Spygate affair that was the subject of the Erasmus Commission
Erasmus Commission
The Erasmus Commission was an investigative commission set up by former ANC Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool to investigate claims that the Democratic Alliance, led by Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille, had improperly used public funds to engage in espionage against the DA's opponents. It was headed...
of inquiry into the city's investigations that was instituted by the ANC provincial government in the Western Cape
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
. The city's own disciplinary committee in October 2007 recommended that Badih Chabaan be expelled from the city council on charges of corruption and bringing disrepute to the council by his many antics at disrupting council meetings. However the ANC-controlled Western Cape provincial government under MEC of local government Richard Dyantyi
Richard Dyantyi
Qubudile Richard Dyantyi is a previous MEC for Local Government and Housing in the Western Cape province of South Africa...
who has the real power to expel a standing councillor upon the city's recommendation, decided not to expel Chabaan until pending the outcome of the Erasmus Commission after he ordered a probe into Chabaan's behaviour. However months after the city successfully had the commission declared illegal in court, in November 2008, the new ANC MEC of local government Pierre Uys refused to remove Chabaan. The Cape Town city council under Zille then threatened the provincial government with legal recourse if the MEC didn't act by the end of January 2009.
In 2008 after a tense standoff with Chabaan the city council successfully had him removed from Greenmarket Square after the council nullified the dubious lease contract under which Chabaan had extorted money from the square's 200 street vendors and he has continued to do so even after the lease was suspended. City Police had to be called in enforce Chabaan's removal from the square.