DA to reverse some De Lille decisions

JP Smith: ‘It’s always about her and never about anyone else’

EVEN with Patricia de Lille back in the mayoral chair, plans are already afoot to roll back some of her decisions. JP Smith, back as mayoral committee member for Safety, Security and Social Services, said they were “going to revert to certain things”.

He said the caucus had already expressed its support for the re-establishment of the City’s Special Investigative Unit.

“It has always been about brand Patricia. It’s always about her and never about anyone else. That is why we spoke out against these things. But now we are going to reduce her delegations of power. We are going to revert back to certain things, like the Special Investigative Unit and many other things that were wrong. We have learned our lesson. Whoever is the next mayor, will not have all this power,” Smith said.

De Lille yesterday packed out her belongings when she returned to the office and met with Danish Ambassador Trine Rask Thygesen and had meetings with the City’s finance head and budget committee for a briefing. Chief of staff Pierrinne Leukes also gave her a briefing.

“I am back at work and have been doing some pre-party work since I was away. ,” she said.

But Smith said the DA caucus would be involved in taking decisions. De Lille said the DA set her up for failure with the water tariff increases which was part of the budget she had to table.

“In less than a few days of Ian Neilson acting as the mayor, he got a new budget and the tariffs were drastically lowered. I was never told that the tariff increases for domestic users in the first user band will be 55.16%. We were also not told that the 26.9% was for non-potable water. They tried to set me up for failure. But they didn’t calculate that I would be back now, because he (Neilson) would have presented the budget. But now I am back,” she said.

Smith said there could not be any reconciliation after the allegations of mismanagement, corruption and nepotism.

“You cannot put corruption aside. There are several reports and investigations ongoing and we simply cannot put that aside. That is not going to happen, that is why the DA have argued in court that the relationship is irreparable,” he said.

De Lille, however, has called for unity in the interest of governing the City.

“I took note of the comments some people made. It is very amateurish. I am mature enough to work professionally even with those that don’t like me. I am experienced enough to work with everyone for the better good of the City, its staff and residents,” she said.

After her axing on May 8, De Lille approached the courts to challenge the constitutionality of Section 3.5.1.2 of the DA’s constitution which states that “a member ceases to be a member of the party when he or she publicly declares his or her intention to resign and or publicly declares his or her resignation from the party”.

The high court ruled that, in the interim, De Lille be reinstated as mayor while a final judgment is expected on May 25.

Meanwhile, former poo-thrower Loyiso Nkohla, in a letter to DA leader Mmusi Maimane, said he knew of plans to lodge another no-confidence vote against De Lille. But Maimane’s spokesperson Portia Adams said Nkohla’s comments did not deserve a response.

Smith also said that Nkohla’s comments were devoid of truth.