Motion of no confidence in Zille ‘baseless’‚ her party colleagues say

The Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape Legislature has called the motion of no confidence in Premier Helen Zille "baseless''.

Opposition ANC members tabled the motion against Zille last month when the DA suspended her from party activities following an outcry about her tweets which appeared to support colonialism.

Addressing the media on Wednesday‚ DA caucus chairperson Lorraine Botha said the party would debate the motion of no confidence.

“The contents of this motion will be debated in the house for a third time now‚ hence we are saying it is baseless because the content in terms of the DA will not change‚” said Botha.

She said the DA anticipated a robust discussion on Zille’s performance as premier of the Western Cape and the multitude of successes achieved under her leadership.

“How will the party vote? …we will vote in the confidence of the premier‚” she said.

Botha said it was a well known fact that the Western Cape was the best run province in the country.

“The fact is that the ANC in the Western Cape are a total mess. Factionalism is rife‚ and the party’s Metro Region has been disbanded. The situation is so bad that they needed President [Jacob] Zuma of all people to get involved in fixing the mess on a recent visit to Cape Town‚” she added.

Asked about a possibility of a vote by a secret ballot for the motion‚ DA chief whip Mark Wiley said the ANC had not applied to the legislature to have a secret ballot.

- TimesLIVE