Unease as De Lille in sights again

DIVISIONS in the DA’s City of Cape Town caucus might again come to a head today when motions of no confidence are due to be brought against speaker Dirk Smit and mayor Patricia de Lille.

Yesterday, chief whip Shaun August came out guns blazing, saying since the first motion against De Lille failed in February, many of his colleagues, including himself, had been intimidated and victimised for not supporting it.

“Going into a vote for yet another motion against mayor De Lille, I hope our (right) to exercise our... vote without intimidation is upheld, not only because the Western Cape High Court ruled on this but because everyone deserves the right to make a decision... based on the evidence presented to them,” he said.

JP Smith, the DA caucus leader, said there was no truth to August’s claims. “Absolute falsehood. The party looked into, and found it to be baseless. In fact, the reverse is true, with people like him and some of his colleagues laying false charges against councillors who supported the motion of no confidence.”

Councillor Marian Nieuwoudt, one of the senior councillors, submitted the motion on behalf of the DA. Niewoudt’s request was supported by Kraaifontein councillor Brenda Hansen.

The motion against Smit was submitted by ANC councillor Charlotte Heyns, who said the party had taken the stand because Smit was unable to be impartial.