‘Problematic’ De Lille to defy DA leadership

Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille will refuse to step down when she meets the DA top brass today.

Instead, she will call for a mediation process to resolve tensions ripping apart the ruling DA caucus in the City of Cape Town.

Sources close to De Lille said she will argue that she has not been formally charged or subjected to a disciplinary hearing, and therefore has not had adequate opportunity to defend herself against allegations including maladministration, mismanagement and nepotism.

The DA federal executive — the party’s highest decision-making and disciplinary body when the federal congress and federal council are not in session — has already accepted an investigative report that criticised the mayor and concluded: “The City of Cape Town is in a state of crisis and turmoil, both politically and administratively.”

But De Lille has suggested alternative options instead of her dismissal. They include a mediation process for all caucus members, monthly progress reports to the federal executive and monthly monitoring of caucus meetings by federal executive chairman James Selfe and party CEO Paul Boughey.

• Read the full story on the Sunday Times website