De Lille cries foul at DA ‘short cuts’
‘This proves the clause was designed to get rid of me as soon as possible’
MAYOR Patricia de Lille has slammed the DA, saying the party took short cuts in its attempts to remove her and ignored its own process.
The DA’s federal executive gave its Cape Town caucus the green light yesterday to table a motion of no confidence in De Lille.
The party’s top brass met to discuss the request for permission that was handed out by the Cape Town caucus, and resolved that a motion be put forward.
This move came weeks after the DA’s conference adopted a policy that will allow the party to recall its leaders from office.
The “De Lille clause” adopted reads: “If the president, a premier, a mayor, or any other public representative 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.”
Yesterday, De Lille said the latest move by her party confirmed that the clause was designed to remove her.
She reiterated the need for a public disciplinary hearing to clear her name.
In a statement she posted on social media yesterday, De Lille said: “The DA, including the DA leader, have denied that the clause was designed for me, but this proves that the the recall clause was designed to get rid of me as soon as possible.
“The question the DA must answer is why they are not prepared to wait for the outcome of their own process – the disciplinary hearing?
“Why are they looking for a short cut and why they are objecting to my hearing being open to the media and public, as requested by me as the accused in these matters?
“The DA has made all of these allegations against me in public and therefore my response to it must be open to the public. This move shows how the party ignores its own processes and having the allegations properly tested.
“I am pressing on‚ tending to the problems of the poor and vulnerable in our city and doing the job I was elected to do,” said De Lille.
De Lille survived a motion of no confidence in her when a total of 110 councillors voted No, with 109 voting Yes, and three choosing to abstain in February. The DA has 154 councillors in council, with 74 belonging to the opposition.
The DA was left embarrassed when it supported an ANC-sponsored motion of no confidence in De Lille before the opposition in the city council withdrew it at the 11th hour, saying it would not allow the DA to use its motion for infighting.
Yesterday, DA leader in the Western Cape, Bonginkosi Madikizela, said De Lille’s conduct in the public domain has amounted to frequent criticism of the DA and its management of her case, to the extent that it appears she does not consider herself part of the DA any longer.
The DA Cape Town caucus must now provide three working days’ notice before the motion of no confidence is debated and voted on, he said.
Deputy Cape Town caucus leader JP Smith told Independent Media that De Lille would not survive the upcoming motion. He said in the previous motion the DA caucus made up 75% of the votes.
“She was saved by the opposition, whom she is now governing with their mandate. The DA caucus has expressed no confidence in her as a leader.
“It is unlikely that she will survive this motion,” said Smith.
He said the decision to call for a motion of no confidence in her was a political one, and reiterated that the disciplinary process against De Lille must be separated from this process.