The City of Cape Town and the province’s Cultural and Carnival Committee on Tuesday blamed each other for the delayed annual minstrels’ carnival parade.

Mayor Patricia de Lille apologised to Cape residents, saying the committee had failed to deliver.

“The City of Cape Town would like to apologise to residents and tourists for the Cape Cultural and Carnival Committee’s failure to stage the annual Tweede Nuwe Jaar [Second New Year] minstrel parade which was planned for Monday,” De Lille said in a statement.

“We would like to apologise to the many communities for the inconvenience caused by the last-minute cancellation which the city had no control over,” she said.

Committee president Richard Stemmet blamed the city for Monday’s cancellation.

“The disruption was caused by the City of Cape Town who changed the dates of the carnival,” Stemmet told Sapa.

“They are to be blame.”

He accused the city of booking buses for January 10 for carnival-goers.

This date, however, coincided with the ANC’s 103rd celebrations, to be held at the Cape Town stadium.

Stemmet on Monday told Sapa the carnival would happen on January 10, but on Tuesday said the African National Congress festivities had made this impossible.

“It will not happen on January 10,” he said.

The committee would meet on Wednesday to consider an alternative date.

This year’s carnival, which usually happens shortly after the start of the new year, has seen numerous postponements.

The committee moved the event from the original date of January 3 to January 5 for religious reasons. However, it later postponed it for “logistical reasons” to January 10, which has again been postponed.

The city has given the committee over R2 million to host the carnival.

De Lille said the carnival was a historic event for Cape Town residents and it had to take place this year. SAPA