Cape Town - Mayor Patricia de Lille wants to use the three remaining months of her stay in the council to decide on her political future and also tackle land invasions across the city. Her future in the DA remained unclear following a battle that lasted several months.
Briefing the media yesterday, DA leader Mmusi Maimane announced De Lille’s resignation from the mayoral post. De Lille agreed to step down as a mayor on October 31, and the DA would not pursue disciplinary charges against her.
This came as a disciplinary hearing panel recommended that De Lille’s Knysna counterpart Mark Willemse and councillor Peter Myers be found guilty of contravening the party’s federal constitution. De Lille said her fight was not about a position.
“It was about clearing my name. I feel vindicated so I am very happy today. I can now move forward with my life. I can think about my future. I have not applied my mind fully to what I really want to do, but in due course I will make some plans for my future,” she said.
The DA caucus withdrew yet another motion of no confidence on July 26.
Sunday’s announcement was made on the eve of pre-trial hearing between the DA and De Lille’s attorney in which the now cancelled disciplinary hearing scheduled for later this month was to be discussed.
“While I have been fighting for my rights to prove my innocence and although I was ready to proceed with my disciplinary hearing I also realise that this fight between myself and the DA cannot continue forever,” she said.
Maimane told journalists that the De Lille issue “has been a long and difficult journey”.
“The matter has already gone on for too long and has sapped the energies and attentions of both parties from our core work for which we apologise.”
Asked who would take over from De Lille, Maimane said he was “looking for the best person to lead the City of Cape Town and deliver services to the people”.
ANC caucus leader in the City of Cape Town Xolani Sotashe said: “Our views remain the same. We still want to see that allegations of corruption on various issues against De Lille are probed and tested in an open and credible process.”
SACP in the Brian Bunting District described the agreement between De Lille and the DA as “unscrupulous”.
“Acting out of desperation to clean up its clumsy and political mess in handling the De Lille matter, the DA has deliberately averted the basic constitutional value of accountability in the execution of public mandate.”
Political analyst Keith Gottschalk said the DA clearly had it in mind that the protracted battle was losing it some support.
“They needed to end it before the 2019 election campaign is fully under way,” Gottschalk said.
In Knysna, the hearing, which was open to the public, recommended to the party’s provincial executive committee (PEC) that Myers and Willemse be found guilty of defying a caucus decision, said Myers.
They had voted with the ANC to oust former Knysna mayor Eleanore Bouw-Spies in early June.
“The committee did, however, acknowledge that we did vote our consciences and had every reason to do so. Should the PEC confirm the recommendation of the hearing that we are guilty, then we will still be able to appeal the decision to higher structures in the party,” said Myers.
“I do not want to comment in detail on the way the meeting was handled, but I did say in the public hearing that I disagreed with the panel’s judgement and their recommended sanctions but complemented the chairperson for the spirit in which the meeting was conducted,” he said.
Willemse said he would not discuss the matter.
Approached for comment, DA spokesperson Odette Cason would only say: “A recommendation has been made following the disciplinary proceedings.
“The recommendation will be referred to the PEC for consideration.”