De Lille’s resignation to spur fierce fray

A BRUISING battle lasting several months is expected in the race to succeed Patricia de Lille as DA leader in its powerhouse province of the Western Cape after her sudden shock resignation over the weekend.

Deputy provincial leader Bonginkosi Madikizela will act as leader until 25 February, when the DA provincial council – a large body mainly consisting of councillors, parliamentarians and members of the provincial legislature – will elect an interim leader at its regular meeting in Worcester.

DA Western Cape chairman Anton Bredell said the interim leader would take charge until an elective provincial congress representative of all party members could be held, possibly later this year.

Bredell did not want to commit himself to dates, but party insiders believe nominations for the interim leadership could open as early as tomorrow, and close by the middle of February.

Hot contestation is expected for the interim position, which should position the winner as a strong contender to be elected leader when the next provincial congress takes place – expected to be around November this year.

Contestation for the position could be rife because the winner would have the inside track to become provincial premier when Helen Zille’s term expires in 2019.

De Lille will stay on as a DA member and Cape Town mayor. The official reason she gave in her resignation letter to the party’s national leader, Mmusi Maimane, was that she wanted to focus on her mayoral duties, to which she could not do justice while she was provincial leader as well.

Under De Lille’s leadership the DA has achieved record-breaking electoral success in the Western Cape.

In last year’s election the party amassed a two-thirds majority in Cape Town, and it now rules 29 of the 30 Western Cape municipalities either outright or in coalition.

Nevertheless, over the past few months there have been rumblings of discontent about her leadership.

Some in the Western Cape DA claim relations between De Lille and Zille have become strained, though both deny it vigorously in public.

De Lille was in hot water with the DA federal executive after appointing ‘poo thrower’ and former Ses’khona leader Loyiso Nkohla to a senior stakeholder position for the city administration.

She also saw her power eroded when party stalwart J P Smith was elected deputy chief whip of the DA Cape Town caucus on the mandate that he would fight the influence of the Independent Democrats – the party De Lille led before joining the DA.

Rumour has it that the leaders of the two Western Cape regions outside Cape Town – Erik Marais (western region) and Jaco Londt (eastern region) have met with Zille to try and induce her to challenge De Lille for the provincial leadership, and that she had kept her options open.

Marais and Londt denied that such a meeting had taken place.

For her part, Zille confirmed that she had been approached and that she had not ruled it out, but she would not divulge who had approached her. — TMG