Former DA councillors slam party
TWO more City councillors have resigned in support of now-former Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille, bringing the number of vacancies within the council to seven.
Along with De Lille resigning, councillors Jonathan Cupido and Philiswa Maarman resigned yesterday.
Cupido is a ward councillor from Valhalla Park and surrounds, and his position will have to be filled by way of a by-election.
Maarman is a proportional representation (PR) councillor, which means that she will be replaced by the DA.
Last week, council chief whip Shaun August resigned along with mayco members for Area North Suzette Little and Area Central Siya Mamkeli, Atlantis PR councillors Greg Bernardo and Mfuleni councillor Thulani van der Stemela.
Maarman said her decision to resign does not come lightly because the DA was an organisation she learned to love when she joined in 2008.
“My reasons for resigning are due to the inherent racism I found in the party. As a black person in the DA, I felt undermined particularly as a portfolio committee chairperson in the City of Cape Town. During my last constituency meeting, I felt belittled by my constituency head, who continually interrupted me when I tried to speak. I refuse to be treated like a maid in an organisation that preaches freedom and fairness,” she said.
“It further saddened me to see how the DA treated Patricia de Lille. Having worked with her, I could see she was a woman of integrity and honesty and for this reason I stand by her. The DA is a racist organisation, and I cannot tolerate being part of the DA – a party that continues to use black people the way they have used me,” she said.
Cupido said the DA’s values are only valid in its manifesto, not in reality. “If you don’t dress or speak the English of some, you not really welcome in their company. When looking at the DA as a whole, and listening to the complaints on the ground, I found that the party may claim to be a diverse party, but it’s not,” Cupido said.
He said they worked hard to ensure development took place in the local communities.
“It’s always sad that under this DA-led administration, we never have monies for our areas equivalent to what we spend in the former privileged areas. We would look at a road in Strandfontein or a canal in Bonteheuwel and not have money to upgrade or rehabilitate it,” he said.
DA City caucus leader JP Smith said they were already aware of the resignations on Tuesday.
“We have been through this process before, and in political parties this happens. For Councillor Maarman, I can say that I have always had good dealings with her. But we have accepted this,” he said.
Smith said on Monday, six PR positions will be filled while they await a by-election caused by Cupido’s resignation.