Hoping for a miracle
Mayor accused of misconduct, power-mongering
Patricia de Lille says it is “a huge relief that justice prevailed” after the DA stopped short of firing her as mayor of Cape Town last night and levelled disciplinary charges instead.
“I note the resolutions, which do not include a demand for my resignation or allow a motion of no confidence against me,” De Lille said in a statement after party leader Mmusi Maimane announced the outcome of a federal executive meeting.
“I welcome the fact that the DA has taken the decision to formally charge me. It is disappointing that it took them so long,” said the mayor who earlier had attended a church service in Langa where pastors prayed for her ahead of the federal executive meeting.
Speaking to eNCA, De Lille said: “I look forward to defending myself and to working with the federal legal council to get the proceedings over as soon as possible. I will be dealing with each and every count against me by providing witnesses and evidence.”
She also welcomed the absence of a corruption charge. “I have dedicated my life to fighting corruption, as history shows, and therefore I also welcome the [fact that] corruption charges or allegations are no longer being mentioned by the DA.”
Maimane said De Lille’s handling of the drought in Cape Town had fallen short of the standards the party expected of her. For this reason, she would play no further part in handling the crisis.
She would be charged with: Acting in a manner that has impacted
● negatively on the party;
Failing to carry out her duties to the
● standard required by the party and by legislation;
Bringing the party into disrepute;
●
Acting in a manner that is unreasonable ● and detrimental to internal co-operation; and
Unreasonably failing to comply with official
● decisions of the party.
Another resolution the caucus would be asked to pass, said Maimane, would be to dismantle the centralised system of control De Lille had created and “restore proper decision-making processes”.
The sub-committee, chaired by parliamentary chief whip John Steenhuisen, was brutal in its criticism of De Lille. It said her leadership style had become “extremely problematic for the successful functioning of both the administration and her caucus”.
De Lille’s refusal to testify in front of the committee had left it “with the distinct impression that the mayor clearly has something to hide”.
Maimane said Steenhuisen’s team had uncovered “deep divisions in the caucus as a result of the mayor’s style” and a “paralysing culture of fear” among DA councillors and officials.
It had found evidence that she had centralised control in her office to an excessive degree, interfered with and manipulated senior appointments, and displayed an autocratic and divisive leadership style.
DA’s federal executive also noted recommendations by Bowman Gilfillan law firm commissioned by the City of Cape Town. The firm’s report recommended further investigation of De Lille for gross misconduct, gross dereliction of duty and for misleading the council. These allegations relate to her alleged cover-up of significant financial losses in the MyCiTi bus system.
Political analyst Tinyiko Maluleke said for DA to put the matter before its disciplinary council was a small victory for De Lille.
“Up until now she has been saying they shouldn’t hound her out on untested allegations. They are disciplining her only because she’s insisted on it,” Maluleke said.