DA gives Patricia de Lille the boot

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has kicked out Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille.

The party announced on Tuesday that De Lille was no longer a party member after she declared in a radio interview that she was “walking away”. 

In the interview on 702 and Cape Talk, Eusebius McKaiser asked De Lille: “If I hear you‚ you are saying: ideally‚ I want to clear my name‚ that’s why I am going to court‚ and if I win this battle‚ and when I win it‚ because I know I’ve done nothing wrong‚ then the morning after I have won the court case‚ then I will resign from the DA?”

De Lille replied: “I will walk away. You summed it up correctly. Because really it is not about hanging on... I’m serving there at the behest of the DA.”

Apology

The DA said it apologised for the impact of the break-up on the City of Cape Town.

“This has been a confusing time for the citizens of Cape Town‚” Natasha Mazzone‚ deputy chairwoman of the DA Federal Council‚ told a media briefing at party headquarters in Cape Town.

“Our priority is to restore stability and coherence to the city government so that we can continue to provide excellent and responsive services to the people of the city.

“We recognise that we will need to rebuild trust with the voters and will do our utmost best to ensure that we get back to the business of governing Cape Town.”

Mazzone said the party was “deeply concerned” about the impact the De Lille affair has had on the residents of Cape Town.

“It is no secret that the DA has suffered immeasurable damage because of this issue due to the lack of information presented to our voters‚” she said.

De Lille told TimesLIVE she would respond to the DA announcement at a news conference being arranged for 11am on Tuesday.

The DA’s unhappiness with De Lille began last July‚ when mayoral committee member JP Smith submitted a report to party leader Mmusi Maimane and federal executive chairman James Selfe headed: “Complaint: Conduct of Patricia de Lille and state of governance in City of Cape Town council.”

Since then‚ the party has made numerous attempts to oust De Lille‚ and she has responded vigorously‚ including taking legal action.

Selfe said on Tuesday that as a result of the DA federal legal commission decision that De Lille was no longer a party member‚ the disciplinary action against her would not proceed. “The fact that she has ceased to be a member renders the other processes (the disciplinary and the accountability clause) moot‚” he said.

Deputy mayor Ian Neilson would act in De Lille’s stead in the short term.

“We wish Ms De Lille well future endeavours and thank her for her service she has given the party‚” said Selfe.