DA FedEx will consider way forward after De Lille MONC

Last week, the City of Cape Town Caucus requested permission from the DA’s Federal Executive (FedEx) to proceed with an internal Motion of No Confidence in Patricia de Lille.

These reasons included:

The caucus had lost faith in Ms de Lille as she had repeatedly breached the Code of Conduct for Councillors as well as the Constitution of the DA, had brought the DA into disrepute and the breached of the conditions of her suspension

That Ms De Lille’s conduct in the public domain has amounted to frequent criticisms of the DA and the DA’s management of her case, to the extent that it appears that she does not consider herself part of the DA any longer, or at least considers herself more important than it and above the rules of the party; and

Her recent comment “she is no longer cooperating with the DA” means she cannot effectively govern on a DA mandate.

Given the significant motivation, which explains why two-thirds of the caucus had voted to remove de Lille in the previous MONC, the FedEx granted permission for the MONC to proceed.

The previous MONC came about due to the damning findings against Ms de Lille contained in the independent investigation by Bowman Gilfillan which found prima facie evidence of gross misconduct, gross dereliction of duty, and conduct that amounted to deceiving Council. The Bowman’s report was supported by the fact that the Auditor-General downgraded the City’s audit status from clean, to unqualified with conditions in January this year. This downgrade was the direct result of the conduct of the Mayor herself.

This evening 97 councillors voted for the motion, 41 voted against, 15 abstained/ were absent and there was one spoilt ballot. It is clear that an overwhelming 70% of the councillors in the caucus have expressed that they have lost confidence in Ms De Lille’s leadership.

The Federal Executive will now provide Ms de Lille with the opportunity to make submissions as to why she should not step down.

The FedEx will then deliberate on the submission and come to a decision on how to proceed which could include the fact that Ms de Lille will be asked to resign, in line with the Accountability clause.

Despite numerous claims to the contrary, the Accountability Clause which was formally adopted the DA’s Federal Congress, is not about de Lille.

In fact, the clause has already enabled the DA to hold an executive member in the Matzikama municipality to account. This case was the first time the clause was used. We have also received a request from Stellenbosch municipality invoking the same clause.

Ultimately, the people we serve must come first. Any DA member who does not adhere to the highest possible standards of clean and efficient governance will be removed.

Claims that this clause will be used to unfairly remove executive members are untruths peddled to detract the public eye from serious leadership flaws and faults.

We will ensure that the interests of the people of Cape Town are our top priority and that the City of Cape Town leadership gets back to the business of dealing with the unprecedented drought crisis and delivering services to the people of this city. We will not hesitate to act to ensure that this happens.

Statement issued by Natasha Mazzone, DA Deputy Chairperson of Federal Council, 25 April 2018