Battle for De Lille’s job rages
A BRUISING battle that could last several months is expected in the race to succeed Patricia de Lille as DA leader in its powerhouse province of the Western Cape.
De Lille resigned as DA leader, but will stay on as party member and Cape Town mayor.
In her letter of resignation to DA national leader Mmusi Maimane, she said 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 achieved recordbreaking 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.
Over the past few months there have been rumblings of discontent about her leadership.
Some claim relations between De Lille and premier Helen Zille have become strained, though both deny it.
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 JP Smith was elected deputy chief whip of the DA Cape Town caucus on the mandate he would fight the influence of the ID – the party De Lille led before joining the DA.
Rumour has it 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 provincial leadership, and that she had kept her options open.
Marais and Londt deny such a meeting took place.
For her part, Zille confirmed she had been approached and that she had not ruled it out, but she would not divulge who had approached her.
Furthermore, De Lille’s key provincial ally – metro region chairman Shaun August – was found guilty of breaking internal party procurement regulations and fined R50 000 two weeks ago.
Sources close to De Lille said yesterday she had indeed become fed up with the continuous plotting and intrigue against her by people who professed primary loyalty to Zille, but De Lille denied it.
“If that was the case, I would tell you. South Africans know me – I speak my mind and I hide nothing. The facts are that we have set ourselves ambitious targets for Cape Town to attract even more foreign direct investment, improve its services even further and turn around apartheid spatial planning,” De Lille said.
“In the four months since the election, I thought much, and decided I can only do justice to the massive trust Capetonians have given me by their two-thirds mandate if I focus all my energy on the city.”
Deputy provincial leader Bonginkosi Madikizela will act as DA leader in the province until February 25, when the DA provincial council 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.
“I speak my mind and I hide nothing