De Lille dismisses nepotism charges

ID leader Patricia de Lille has dismissed allegations of nepotism against her as "baseless nonsense".

"This latest attack from the ANC shows a party in desperation and unable to engage the electorate on the issues that directly affect their lives," Independent Democrats chief whip Lance Greyling said in a statement.

A dossier released by the ANC in the hotly contested Western Cape, where De Lille is the Democratic Alliance's mayoral candidate, claimed that she had employed her son, Alistair, as the ID's head of finance.

She also allegedly helped her sister's son, Shaun, get a job in the Witsenberg municipality as a strategic manager in the mayor's office.

De Lille's sister, Sarah Paulse, is an ID MP in the National Assembly and her husband, Desmond Paulse, is De Lille's driver, according to the ANC.

Her other sister, Veronica Paulse, has allegedly been appointed as area manager in the Theewaterskloof municipality.

"These allegations are frankly baseless nonsense and probably inspired by disaffected candidates who didn't make the list and crossed to the ANC," said Greyling.

"The DA will continue to campaign on issues that directly affect the people of Cape Town."