Cape Town - Former DA councillor Carin Brynard has accused mayor Patricia de Lille of being anti-white as she defected to the fairly unknown Cape Party.
Brynard, first elected in 2006, resigned from the DA at the end of August after fallouts with De Lille. She was a councillor in Ward 102 which includes Brackenfell and Kraaifontein.
“Patricia’s dictatorial style and baggage from her days as leader of the Independent Democrats (ID) has split the DA caucus in the city council,” says Brynard.
By 2010, the ID had all but folded, with numerous allegations of nepotism on the part of De Lille, she said.
“Patricia has a history in the radical anti-white PAC, and this ideology continues to drive many of her appointments. The people of Cape Town voted for a DA mayor but instead got a PAC mayor,” she said.
OUTSPOKEN: Carin Brynard
Brynard’s defection is the latests drama to hit the DA in Cape Town following the controversial fallout between De Lille and her safety chief JP Smith.
“This followed a public fallout between the pair over De Lille’s role in shutting down the city’s Special Investigating Unit, which probed allegations that De Lille had used public money for security upgrades to her property in Pinelands. I have studied the Cape Party’s manifesto, and after meetings with the leadership team, I have decided that the Cape Party is the best vehicle forward for my constituents,” says Brynard.
She cited the party’s commitment to devolution as key to her decision to join.
“The Cape Party allows members much greater freedom to represent their constituents. Funding restrictions for services are hurting ratepayers. Rates and taxes are not ploughed back proportionately to ratepayers in the ward. In many instances I have no answers for my constituents and the tug-of-war between what is best for my people and what is best for my party is something I have wrestled with for too long,” she said.
Asked about her removal as chairperson of the safety and security portfolio, Brynard said: “This has nothing to do with my position. I was removed more than nine months ago. The issues I raised related to the nepotism and De Lille favouring former ID members,” she said.
Xolani Koyana, mayoral spokesperson, said: “These are lies that Brynard keeps repeating hoping that by repeating them they will eventually become the truth. She is bitter that she was not reappointed as the safety and security portfolio committee chair and she should be reminded that no one is entitled to a position.”
Brynard’s resignation has created a vacancy in Ward 102, where a by-election is expected to be held on November 29.