The Federal Executive of the Democratic Alliance (DA) has officially rescinded Mayor Patricia de Lille’s party membership. The announcement was made by the party, a short while ago. This effectively means she cannot continue in her position as the Mayor of Cape Town.
De Lille stands accused of several allegations, including misconduct and bringing the party into disrepute. She was asked last week to provide reasons why she should not resign, following a disciplinary hearing.
In a statement released by the DA, Natasha Mazzone, Deputy Chairperson of Federal Council said this has been a confusing time for the people of Cape Town, for which the DA sincerely apologises.
“Accordingly, the Federal Executive resolved last night to endorse the finding of the FLC that her membership had ceased as of 26 April, the date of the 702 interview. We have informed Ms De Lille and City Manager of this fact.
“The party is deeply concerned about the impact this has had on the residents of Cape Town – the people we serve – and the general public. 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,” said Mazzone.
The statement went on further to talk about her interview with Eusebius McKaiser on Radio 702 on 26 April 2018.
“In the course of this interview, Ms de Lille on two occasions indicated that she intended to resign from the DA as soon as she “had cleared her name”. The first was as follows:
EM: Let’s say the morning after you win the legal case, however, do you really want to still be part of the DA?
PdL: No, no, no, no, I’ve said it many times before, Eusebius, you know, the writing’s on the wall that people don’t want me for whatever reason.
On another occasion, Mr McKaiser asks:
EM: If I hear you, you are saying, ideally I want to clear my name, Eusebius, 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.
PdL: I will walk away. You summed it up correctly.
The Democratic Alliance Constitution provides, in section 3.5.1.2 that
“A member ceases to be a member when he or she
3.5.1.2 publicly declares his or her intention to resign and/or publicly declares his or her resignation from the Party;” – the statement read.
The DA wished De Lille well in her future endeavours and thanked her for the service to the DA.
De Lille has said previously that she will be taking further steps and will not take this lying down. She has denied all the allegations leveled against her.
Picture: Twitter