DA to appeal against De Lille ruling

The DA’s fight with Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille is far from over.

The party said on Monday it would appeal against the Western Cape High Court judgment which set aside its decision to terminate De Lille’s membership.

Also on Monday, DA councillor in the Cape Town council Marian Nieuwoudt tabled a new motion of no confidence against De Lille.

Monday was the first day of the council’s new term.

Nieuwoudt could not be reached for comment.

But municipal speaker Dirk Smit confirmed that a motion of no confidence had been tabled against the mayor.

Smit said the motion was set to be heard during a council meeting on July 26.

But Smit’s own fitness to hold office is also up for debate‚ as the ANC has tabled a motion of no confidence against him, citing poor leadership.

ANC caucus leader Xolani Sotatshe accused Smit of being partisan and allowing a cabal within the DA caucus – including party leader Mmusi Maimane – to run the council.

An example of this‚ he said‚ was the decision to remove De Lille’s executive powers and give them to the mayoral committee.

“The powers of the executive mayor are derived from the Municipal Systems Act. You can’t just introduce a mayoral system where there is an executive system,” he said.

“We were among those who advised them against the move‚ but the speaker allowed it.”

The Cape Town council voted to strip De Lille of her executive powers in May‚ leaving her merely as a ceremonial mayor.

The motion was brought by deputy mayor and DA caucus leader Ian Neilson – and it was supported by 137 councillors, with only 50 voting against.

Sotashe said he expected the motion against Smit to be debated on the same day as the motion of no confidence against De Lille.

He said the ANC expected Smit to recuse himself from both debates‚ with the municipal manager presiding over the debate on Smit’s fitness to hold office.

Meanwhile‚ DA deputy federal council chairperson Natasha Mazzone said the party would appeal against the court judgment on the basis that “we respectfully disagree with the findings and believe that our internal processes were not correctly understood”.

A full bench of judges found last month that the termination of De Lille’s DA membership was unlawful.

De Lille‚ who has been at loggerheads with the DA‚ approached the court in May to challenge the constitutionality of the party’s so-called automatic-cessation clause‚ which it used to terminate her membership.

This followed a radio interview in which she said she would resign after clearing her name.

De Lille said on Twitter on Monday afternoon that she respected the DA’s right to appeal the recent Western Cape High Court judgment.

“After all‚ a fair trial includes the right to appeal,” she said.