Plato to return as Cape Town mayor

MUSICAL CHAIRS: DE LILLE EXITS POST ON OCTOBER 31

DA leader Mmusi Maimane declined to become province’s candidate as premier.

The man who was mayor of Cape Town before Patricia de Lille took over in 2011 will return to the position, the Democratic Alliance announced yesterday. In 2009, Dan Plato took over the mayor’s post from Helen Zille after her departure to become premier of the Western Cape.

De Lille agreed to resign in August after a protracted battle with the party.

She reached a deal that saw the DA drop its charges against her.

Plato is currently the Western Cape MEC for safety and security.

De Lille will step down as mayor at the end of October, in a deal with the DA leadership designed to end a year of political warfare between her and the party.

“I am pleased to announce today that the DA and Patricia de Lille have reached a mutual agreement which resolves the question of the leadership of the DA government in Cape Town,” Maimane said at the time.

“This has been a long and difficult journey. This matter has already gone on for too long and has sapped the energies and attentions of both parties from our core work, for which we apologise.”

He said that the agreement was an opportunity to “close a difficult chapter in our history and to open a new one.

“We will continue to put the people first in all we do.”

Maimane said that De Lille had, “for the most part” run the city “with distinction” since 2011. “The team she led has achieved four clean audits and helped the City of Cape Town to its pre-eminent position as the leading metro in South Africa.

“She has been a colleague, friend and loyal member of the DA for nearly a decade. We are pleased that this agreement opens the way for her to remain as a member of the DA.” The DA also said that party leader, Mmusi Maimane, had turned down requests to stand as the party’s candidate for the Western Cape premiership.

Yesterday, the DA postponed the announcement of its Western Cape premier candidate for the 2019 elections.

Maimane’s spokesperson Portia Adams said: “There is no premier candidate as yet. There is a rigorous process to select that candidate.” – –

There is no DA W Cape premier candidate as yet