The Democratic Alliance and Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille announced on Sunday that she will resign as mayor at the end of October, while the internal disciplinary proceedings against her fall away. The terms of the agreement will see Cape Town Mayor leave office at the end of this week but the timing of this agreement between Mmusi Maimane, the national leader of the Democratic Alliance, and De Lille is curious – De Lille has won in court against the DA over how it has treated her with regards to disciplinary and other processes. The disciplinary hearing was meant to get underway, in an open hearing, as De Lille had wanted, arguing throughout she wanted to clear her name in public.
While I have been fighting for my rights to prove my innocence‚ and although I was ready to proceed with my disciplinary hearing‚ I also realize that this fight between myself and the DA cannot continue forever – De Lille
The agreement on De Lille’s departure comes after over seven months of DA internecine battles in the City of Cape Town – including at least two motions of no confidences that went nowhere, one won by De Lille at the start of the year and the other last month withdrawn. The political tensions from the city have also spilled to the Western Cape party structures, and nationally. The DA at its national congress earlier this year introduced what’s known as “the De Lille clause” in its party constitution: that elected public representatives could be withdrawn from office on the loss of confidence –DM
Patricia De Lille showed the DA flames. Won court battles and showed us that internal structures of the party deserve more scrutiny. Because to this day, on her resignation it’s still unclear what she did wrong
— Bonga Dlulane (@DlulaneMonwa) August 5, 2018
Patricia De Lille you could be the Mayor of Cape Town again under a New Polical Party for the MAJORITY People in the Western Cape pic.twitter.com/r7WujJncmq
— A_Trevor Gordon (@ATrevorGordon1) August 5, 2018
Whether Patricia de Lille is innocent or guilty of maladministration/corruption, the fact remains that the DA has dropped corruption/maladministration charges against her.
Just imagine if the ANC dropped internal corruption charges against an ANC member. Just imagine the outcry!
— Fazlin Fransman (@FazlinFransman) August 5, 2018
