‘Frustrated’ De Lille wants to see action… fast

Patricia de Lille is getting tired of waiting to clear her name.

The delay of the disciplinary hearing against the mayor of Cape Town has left her financially frustrated and unfulfilled – and in dire need of a resolution.

An aggravated De Lille said she was ready to start with the proceedings.

“I just want us to get on with the substantive issues as soon as possible. We have not even discussed my request on wanting to have the meeting open to the media. My name has been smeared in public and I want my name to be cleared in public. So now we have to start this process all over again,” she said.

De Lille has requested that the hearing be open to the media, but has yet to get an answer.

“We couldn’t get to my request because we don’t have a properly constituted panel. This is very frustrating to deal with but it’s better that we deal with these things upfront than afterwards,” she said.

Political analyst Somadoda Fikeni said the party was being hypocritical in its dealing with the De Lille matter.

“The DA has for years wanted transparency from the ANC. With every media scandal, they want things to be out in the open, but when it comes to them, they do not like what they are hearing. That is a sign of inconsistency,” said Fikeni.

He said the DA was making it seem like “a witch-hunt with racial inclinations”.

“If you compare it to how Helen Zille was treated when she had all those racial incidents on Twitter, there was so much decorum and such restraint, and a call not to talk about these things in the media,” said Fikeni.

Fikeni said this was “a desperate effort to destroy Patricia by any means necessary”.

“They restricted her from participating in party activities and took the water issue from her. They are not giving the impression that they want transparency, or believe in the principle that one is innocent until proven guilty.

“For a party that has always prided themselves in their respect for the law, one would expect them to have engaged her as a leader in her own right until such time that legal processes have been followed,” said Fikeni.

During De Lille’s hearing yesterday, advocate Pogiso Monchusi recused himself, after her legal team’s request that he and attorney Sheila Camerer not form part of the proceedings.

“We have given evidence that he is not a fit and proper person. When he withdrew, we could not proceed because the panel needs to consist of three people,” said De Lille.

DA Federal Council chairperson James Selfe said Monchusi’s decision to withdraw should not be interpreted as an admission of wrongdoing.

“He made it clear he was withdrawing solely to avoid any potential risk to the proceedings.”

The future of De Lille’s hearing remain unknown as a third panel member still needs to be appointed.

“We are now waiting for the next date. This is a waste of time and waste of [my money] because I’m paying for my lawyers,” said De Lille.

– news@citizen.co.za

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