Limberg ‘guns’ for De Lille, lays criminal charges

Democratic Alliance Cape Town mayor’s office member Xanthea Limberg has lodged a criminal charge against former mayor Patricia de Lille.

Limberg has opened a case claiming De Lille corrupted a process which should have been transparent. This refers to an appointment of the city manager.

She said she immediately raised the issue when the matter arose. She did not raise it to the city manager because she claimed he too was implicated.

Limberg could not raise it to the MEC for local government or the speaker as De Lille was also the provincial leader at the time and was responsible for the performance assessments of those individuals.

She claimed to have followed the disciplinary processes against De Lille. “Since they [disciplinary processes] were no longer going ahead,” she saw it fit to file charges.

Limberg is accusing the former mayor of filling the most senior position within the municipality, that of the city manager.

DA Cape Town mayo member Xanthea Limberg on why she’s laying a charge against Patricia de Lille (@gerbjan) pic.twitter.com/2YZB9qAGq6

— Team News24 (@TeamNews24) November 16, 2018

De Lille resigned as mayor on October 31 after several failed attempts by the DA to remove her. The party agreed it would drop all internal disciplinary charges against her.

A separate investigation showed alleged mismanagement by the former mayor.

The report, known as the Steenhuisen report, allegedly investigated her conduct after she had allegedly sent a text message to councillor Limberg requesting that then candidate for city manager Achmat Ebrahim be given a high score.

De Lille said she would pursue civil damages against those who made the claims to defame her.

Earlier in May, Limberg reacted to the SMS De Lille sent to her. She said the suggestion by De Lille that she was influenced to manufacture the 2016 SMS was ridiculous.

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