Cape Town – Outgoing Mayor Patricia de Lille has lodged a complaint with the Office of Speaker Baleka Mbete against two DA MPs for their part in distributing a fake auditor-general report on social media.
In the letter, which the Cape Times has seen, De Lille charges that DA deputy chief whip Mike Waters and National Council of Provinces MP Bronwynn Engelbrecht’s actions were at odds with Parliament’s Code of Ethics by disrespecting a Chapter 9 institution.
The latest move came after the two, along with DA branch executive Henk Hugo and KwaZulu-Natal DA deputy chairperson Shehana Kajee, did not issue a public apology for circulating the document.
De Lille’s letter to Mbete, dated October 19, reads: “By reposting or otherwise distributing the document, they published defamatory material against me, which is aggravated by the fact that this was done as part of a concerted effort to discredit me for political reasons.
"I believe their actions to be at odds with the Parliamentary Code of Ethics by disrespecting a Chapter 9 institution.”
She told Mbete that, according to media reports, Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu had met DA leader Mmusi Maimane, who had promised to investigate the matter.
She asked Mbete to investigate the matter and availed herself to appear before an ethics committee.
Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said: “We can confirm that the Speaker has received the letter from the mayor of Cape Town, De Lille. Once she has applied her mind regarding its content, she’ll make her decision.”
DA chief whip John Steenhuisen said: “De Lille is desperately trying to divert attention away from the imminent discussion by the council of the Bowman’s report, which will no doubt expose what was really happening in the City under her leadership.
“De Lille is forum shopping and is free to lodge complaints with whomsoever she wishes; members are still awaiting the legal letters she threatened previously. We will deal with the ethics committee complaints when and if they are proceeded with by the registrar.”