De Lille motion withdrawn

A proposed motion of no confidence in Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille was officially withdrawn during a meeting of the council yesterday.

Deputy mayor Ian Neilson informed council that the motion would no longer proceed and the matter would be sent to the speaker’s multi-party committee for discussion.

In a statement, Democratic Alliance (DA) federal council deputy chairperson Natasha Mazzone said the party had reached an agreement with De Lille that a disciplinary process take place over three days in August.

“In line with the agreement, the motion of no confidence against mayor De Lille that was scheduled to take place today [Thursday] in the City of Cape Town Council has been withdrawn,” the statement said.

“In addition, the agreement makes space for the mayor to be held accountable in a fair and reasonable manner for findings of independent council-led investigations, such as the upcoming Bowman’s report into her conduct.”

According to Mazzone, the DA had also agreed to De Lille’s demands that the disciplinary hearing be conducted by an independent senior prosecutor and that the proceedings be open to the media.

“This agreement states that we will all strive to conclude the matter as soon as possible.”

De Lille survived a motion of no confidence in her leadership in February by one vote.

She later took the DA to court and won when it fired her for telling a radio talk show host that she would leave the party if she cleared her name. – ANA

The agreement makes space for the mayor to be held accountable in a fair and reasonable manner.

Natasha Mazzone DA federal council deputy chairperson