Staff Writer
The DA mandarins decided, after much speculation over the party’s possible candidate for Cape Town’s mayoral chain, to go with the incumbent, Patricia de Lille.
This followed a process of interviews of a string of would-be mayors.
At a packed press conference at the party’s offices at the Western Cape legislature, there were hardly any gasps as De Lille was announced as Cape Town’s mayoral candidate by party leader Mmusi Maimane.
Speaking from prepared notes, De Lille said she had been subjected to a competitive process to become the DA’s mayoral candidate for this year’s local government elections.
“I would love to thank the DA for expressing its confidence in me. I humbly accept this nomination.
“When I asked the people of the great city of Cape Town to lend me their vote in 2011, I did so on the promise that I would work to make this great city even greater,” said De Lille.
The other candidates for the position had been relative unknowns such as Guy Andrews, Daniel Jacobs, Peter Meakin and Ursula Schenker.
De Lille boasted that under her administration, the City had installed the MyCiTi bus service, which extended from Atlantis to Khayelitsha.
“We have put in the broadband network that is helping us become a digital city of the 21st century. We have invested more in the Expanded Public Works Programme, over R130 million a year, than any other municipality.”
De Lille said she was looking forward to being subjected to “interviews” from voters, and looked forward to the local government election campaign.