Mayor thwarted in attempt to crush report

MAYOR Patricia de Lille’s attempt to set aside the Steenhuisen report, which found her guilty of, among others, maladministration, couldn’t go ahead in the Western Cape High court as, according to her, the DA refused to give her the necessary documentation.

This has now prompted her to prepare another court application to force the DA to hand over the documents they used to charge her. The charges formulated against De Lille have paved the way for De Lille’s removal from her position.

In December, the party said its sub-committee had found “sufficient management and governance-related challenges prevalent in the DA’s City of Cape Town caucus, negatively impacting the City’s mandate to govern efficiently”.

Yesterday, De Lille said in a media statement: “(This) evidence informed the Steenhuisen report in which findings were made against me.

“I have now been forced into the position of having to launch yet another separate court application in order to get the documents which the DA has been using to smear my name… “I now have to spend more time and more money in order to clear my name because of their delaying tactics,” she said.

Among the documents De Lille wants is the letter from JP Smith, mayoral committee member for safety, which was addressed to DA leader

‘I (MUST) SPEND MORE TIME AND MONEY… TO CLEAR MY NAME’

Mmusi Maimane, James Selfe and other senior members.

“This letter was then leaked to the media in August 2017. I am aware of two matters which were raised in the letter. The first related to the allegation that I shut down the City’s Special Investigation Unit and the second was allegations pertaining to the security upgrades of my residence.

“I have been asking the DA leadership for this letter since September 2017, because it is very clearly the genesis of the smear campaign that they have subjected me to. The DA has refused every single request I have made in this regard,” she said.

De Lille said she requested a copy of the letter from Maimane via SMS. “He agreed to send me a copy but I never received it. I also requested the letter from James Selfe. He sent me one page only of the 30-page letter. I requested the letter from John Steenhuisen and my request was met with a legal response to say that the letter is confidential.”

She said she has become convinced that Smith enjoys the protection of “all of these federal leaders mentioned”.