Patricia de Lille rates herself an eight
In an interview in which she scored herself out of ten, the outgoing Cape Town mayor also mentioned that she's working on a book.
Former Cape Town mayor Patricia De Lille appears in the Western Cape High Court to fight her expulsion from the DA, 5 June 2018. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane/African News Agency
Her tenure may have been hit with controversy near the end, with a protracted battle between herself and the DA culminating in the party making a deal with her that sees her stop down as mayor at the end of October, but Patricia De Lille told The Daily Maverick that she would score herself a solid 8/10 for her time as mayor of Cape Town.
She listed among her achievements progress when it comes to settling land restitution claims, her fight against racism which saw a desk added at the mayoral office where racist incidences can be reported and her role in addressing the gap between rich and poor by way of providing “parity of services” to communities across Cape Town.
She added that she believes Cape Town is the “best-run metro” in the country in terms of access to water, sanitation, and refuse removal.
In terms of challenges for the city moving forward, De Lille cites the need for greater “urgency” when it comes to service delivery, a problem not unique to Cape Town.
De Lille also mentioned that she is writing a book about her time as mayor.
READ MORE: De Lille handed victory against DA with costs
The DA announced in September that De Lille’s replacement will be Dan Plato, who will be embarking on his second term as mayor.
In 2019 he took over from Helen Zille after her departure to become premier of the Western Cape. He was then succeeded by current Cape Town mayor De Lille, who he will now be replacing.
De Lille agreed to resign in August after reaching a deal that saw the DA drop its criminal charges against her, with De Lille staying on until October 31.
“I am pleased to announce today that the DA and Patricia de Lille have reached a mutual agreement which resolves the question of the leadership of the DA government in Cape Town,” Maimane said at the time.
De Lille’s legal woes stemmed from claims that Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, businessman Anthony Faul asked for a “payment” in relation to a potential deal involving automatic fire extinguishers, according to a report by EWN. It is alleged that the mayor asked for R5 million from Faul.
READ MORE: De Lille demands apology for fellow DA members’ ‘defamation’
However, De Lille always maintained her innocence and fought to clear her name with some success.
In June the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town found that there was non-compliance with its own constitution in the DA’s handling of the disciplinary process that culminated in the removal of Patricia De Lille as a member of the DA and then as mayor of Cape Town.
The party’s removal of Patricia De Lille was declared unlawful and was set aside with costs, and De Lille was reinstated as mayor, later reaching the deal which will see her step down at the end of the month.
De Lille also sent an open letter out last week announcing her intention of suing four DA members for defamation unless they publicly apologise for sharing a post accusing her of misconduct that was later proven to be false.
The post claimed to “expose” De Lille for having broken the rules in relation to a MyCiti bus tender. It appeared to be signed by Auditor-General Thembekile “Kimi” Makwetu, but the signature was found to have been forged.
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