Political analyst Professor Keith Gottshalk has slated the DA for opting for a “lacklustre politician” in Western Cape Community Safety MEC Dan Plato to become the next mayor.
Gottshalk also regretted that the DA’s federal executive on Tuesday ratified a recommendation by a selection panel by choosing a male politician to succeed Patricia de Lille. Plato has previously served as mayor between 2009 and 2011.
Gottschalk told the SABC: “Until now Dan Plato has been a low-profile, lacklustre politician, so we have to see if he improves in future. The DA has unfortunately moved from a woman mayor to another male politician."
The mayoral candidates who lost out were deputy mayor Ian Neilson, transport and urban development Mayco member Brett Herron, provincial legislature Speaker Sharna Fernandez, Gauteng politician Heinrich Volmink and City DA member Sumaya Taliep.
DA spokesperson Solly Malatsi said: “It was a very capable pool of candidates that reckoned and ranked Dan Plato high because of all the experience.
“He has previously been mayor (and) has extensive experience as the MEC of Community Safety in the Western Cape. And he’s the one that will best serve the people of Cape Town.”
De Lille is set to step down at the end of October and Plato will then have to be voted in by the council. Plato says he will combine his expertise with lessons learnt from this predecessors.
Plato told ewn.co.za: “I will have to see what is in place? What is working and not? And the current City leadership will have to guide me with regard to that… We cannot compromise service delivery to the citizens of the city.”
In congratulating her nominee replacement, De Lille told the SABC: “I am very confident and have peace of mind that I'm leaving behind a city that is known to be the best-run metro in South Africa, with a pro-poor budget all these years, and I certainly hope he will continue to make Cape Town a pro-poor city. My advice to him is that you must always be accessible, available and responsive.”
News24.com noted that Plato’s career has been marked by several controversies, including a high-ranking police officer, Major-General Jeremy Vearey, previously accusing him of using public funds to pay informants and of conducting intelligence operations in his capacity as MEC for Community Safety.
Vearey believed Plato was using the informants to run a smear campaign against him, which Plato previously denied. A criminal complaint, initiated by the ANC in the Western Cape, was also lodged against Plato in 2016.
Plato welcomed this at the time, saying his actions have always been aimed towards the best safety interests of Western Cape residents.
In June 2016, Vearey was suddenly transferred from heading the province's detectives and he believed that this may have been partially because of the tension between himself and Plato.