De Lille clause: ‘witch-hunt’
MAYOR Patricia de Lille says the DA’s new “recall clause”, which states that the party can remove members in executive positions who lack competence, is a witch-hunt against her.
De Lille responded after the DA’s federal congress in Pretoria adopted the constitutional amendment yesterday.
“It is no secret that there are individuals in the DA who have been trying to get rid of me at any cost for the last few months. They have repeatedly shown that they would flout their own processes and ignore their own values of ‘freedom, fairness and opportunity’ in order to have me removed.
“Changing their own federal constitution through the newly passed ‘De Lille clause’ shows just how far they are willing to go to avoid their own due process.”
De Lille said she had been fighting for a fair and transparent process amid “the slew of allegations that have been thrown my way”.
“The DA should be aware that even if they refuse to follow due process in the spirit of fairness, the laws of our country protect public representatives.
“As someone who fought for those rights during the struggle against apartheid, I will not tire in ensuring that the hearing I have asked for is open to both the media and the public.
“They deserve to hear my defence in the interest of clearing my name in the most transparent way possible,” said De Lille.
This comes after the DA failed to remove her as mayor through a motion of no confidence.
She had been banned from attending the weekend’s twoday federal congress as part of the conditions of the disciplinary hearing against her.
The clause reads: “If the president, a premier, a mayor, or any other public representatives elected or appointed to any executive position in a DA government, has lost confidence of his or her caucus, the federal executive may, after giving him or her the opportunity to make representations to it, resolve to require him or her to resign from his or her office within 48 hours.
“Failure by that member to resign will lead to the cessation of his or her membership of the party in terms of section 3.5.1.10.”
DA federal executive chairperson James Selfe dismissed De Lille’s claims, saying: “This clause had nothing to do with her personally.
“I can give you a number of other representatives who have given us problems in the past,” he told journalists at the congress.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane said the clause was applicable immediately, but was not retrospective and would apply only to new cases in future.
Before the clause was passed, DA KwaZulu-Natal provincial leader Zwakele Mncwango and Eastern Cape party leader Nqaba Bhanga cautioned the party against creating clauses just to target individuals, as the clauses would outlive the concerned individuals and not be applicable after they had left the party.
The official opposition concluded its two-day federal congress in Pretoria during which Maimane was re-elected unopposed and Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Athol Trollip won a hotly contested race against Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga for the position of DA federal chairperson.
In the lead-up to the federal congress, the debate around the diversity clause and proposed amendments divided the party, with the so-called black caucus saying the party’s composition of public representatives and staff compliment did not reflect the country’s demographics in terms of race and gender.
Those critical of the contents of the diversity clause accused the black caucus of “racial solidarity”, pointing out that sections of the amendments were bordering on introducing quotas.
The amendments made by delegates to the clause had helped strengthen it, Maimane said.
The new diversity clause said South Africa was a richly diverse society and that its people came from different origins, worship in different ways, and had different cultures and customs, and that they were all unique individuals.
It also reads: “Diversity is one of South Africa’s greatest assets. The party celebrates diversity, and recognises the right of each individual to be who they want to be, from domination by others.”
Maimane said he supported the decision to reject rigid quotas, adding that it was not what he and those who were backing the diversity clause were calling for as solution to the diversity issue.