ANC to table motion of no confidence in Cape Town mayor De Lille

Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille faces a motion of no confidence after allegations of misconduct and possible corruption in her government.

The ANC‚ the official opposition in the city council‚ said on Wednesday it would table the motion at next Tuesday’s council meeting.

The move comes after executive director in De Lille’s office‚ Craig Kesson‚ penned a sworn affidavit accusing the mayor of attempting to bury a report on alleged corruption in the MyCiTi bus rapid transport system.

The ANC leader in the Cape metro‚ Xolani Sotashe‚ said De Lille should also face disciplinary action. “We are calling for the removal of the executive mayor from office and for a vote of no confidence against the mayor to be urgently tabled in council‚” he said.

The party would also call for a secret vote so members of the DA caucus in the city council would be able to vote with their conscience.

Sotashe said there was a 50/50 split between De Lille’s supporters and detractors who want her gone.

“To us the ANC‚ it’s not about the fights within the DA. It’s about making sure that the executive accounts to the public‚” said Sotashe.

The ANC motion comes as De Lille has her back against the wall after the DA placed her on special leave from party activities following a public spat with safety and security mayoral committee member JP Smith.

At a news conference on Wednesday‚ Sotashe used Kesson’s affidavit and reports submitted to a special council meeting last week to conclude that De Lille deliberately withheld information and forensic reports from the council.

The reports raised accusations and counter-accusations of misconduct between city manager Achmat Ebrahim‚ Kesson and Transport and Urban Development Authority commissioner Melissa Whitehead. On Tuesday the council will decided whether to suspend the three.

“We are saying the executive mayor deliberately misled the council. All the points that we have raised‚ we are convinced as the ANC‚ they warrant the removal of the mayor from office‚” said Sotashe.

The party said the reports submitted to council last week showed that De Lille acted “outside her powers” by failing to alert the council about complaints of possible irregularities with transport authority tenders.

“It appears that there is an unholy alliance [between Ebrahim‚ Whitehead and De Lille]‚ including [transport and urban development mayco member] Brett Herron‚” said Sotashe.