De Lille queries drought fight move
Embattled City of Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille is not going down without a fight after council unexpectedly voted to strip her of her powers to lead its drought response.
Embattled Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille is not going down without a fight after the city council voted to strip her of her powers to lead its response to the drought.
De Lille said on Sunday she was consulting the city’s legal team to establish whether Friday’s move to strip her of her powers was permissible and had followed due process.
“I am seeking clarity and I hope to have a response tomorrow [Monday]…. We need to [understand] what the impact of such a decision is,” said De Lille.
Earlier in January, DA leader Mmusi Maimane shifted the city council’s drought response from De Lille’s office to her deputy, Ian Neilson, and mayoral committee member responsible for water Xanthea Limberg.
Maimane argued that since the mayor was involved in disciplinary hearings, she would not be able to give crucial water projects her full attention.
De Lille was hauled before the party’s federal disciplinary committee on charges of maladministration and ignoring misconduct and tender irregularities. She was, however, allowed to remain in her position as mayor, pending the disciplinary process outcome.
De Lille ignored Maimane’s directive, citing a legal opinion by the city’s legal services team.
According to the opinion, the proposal by Maimane to the DA caucus in council “seeks to recommend to the caucus that they seek to circumvent the prescripts of the legislative provisions and content of the council resolutions”.
During a council sitting on Friday, De Lille was taken by surprise when Neilson introduced an amendment calling for her powers to handle drought matters be shifted to the mayoral committee. Despite De Lille’s objections, the matter was put to vote and councillors endorsed Maimane’s recommendation.
Party insiders said this was a clear indication that De Lille had lost the support of the DA caucus in the Cape Town council.
“It’s quite clear that the majority of DA councillors want her out. It’s really a matter of time before Cape Town has a new mayor,” said a senior DA member, who was speaking on condition of anonymity.
De Lille said amendments to the system of delegation had to follow due process.