Cele’s beach wars could cost economy millions

National Police Minister Bheki Cele’s “bully tactics” could cost the Cape Town film economy as much as R24 million, after he stopped a commercial shoot on Camps Bay beach on Wednesday.

In a statement released ahead of the Western Cape High Court showdown between the City of Cape Town and Cele on the matter, executive mayor, Dan Plato, accused Cele of closing down a legitimate and permitted film shoot, which has cost the city revenue.

The minister ordered police officers accompanying him on the inspection of Covid-19 protocol adherence to stop the shoot, as it contravened Covid-19 regulations, despite the city producing permits for filming.

“Eleven productions have notified the City of Cape Town that they will be cancelling their shoots, each of which is estimated to cost a minimum of R1,2 million. These costs do not include hotels, flights, and other costs for hundreds of film crew and support staff, all of whom are adhering to the strictest Covid-19 safety protocols, as the industry slowly finds its feet again after months of lockdown,” he said.

ALSO READ: DA to lay ethics complaint against Cele over stopping Camps Bay ad shoot (video)

Plato said the cancellations were due to fear of further financial losses if shoots are shut down irregularly and without due cause by the SA Police Service.

He charged that Cele was not the national police commissioner anymore and had no authority to instruct a police officer.

Plato said they have reiterated that while battling the spread of the coronavirus, it was critical that the economy is opened to retain as many jobs as possible and that this was the sentiment echoed by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

READ MORE: Cele defends shutting down filming production as City of Cape Town seeks interdict

“I will be writing to the president to ask if he supports his national minister’s destructive and unlawful behaviour, and if not, what action he plans to take to address his bully tactics. Minister Cele’s unlawful conduct includes the issuing of instructions to operational SAPS staff, which he has no authority to do. This matter has also been reported to the Parliamentary Ethics Committee,” he said.

Plato said Cape Town was a film-friendly city and “we will not allow national government’s unlawful behaviour to change this”. He hailed the City’s Safety and Security MMC, Jean-Pierre “JP” Smith for standing up to Cele and correcting his poor understanding of the national Covid-19 regulations

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