The Democratic Alliance (DA) has placed Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille and councillor JP Smith on special leave after the two were involved in a spat.
In a statement issued on Tuesday the DA said the two had been called to account for their actions at a meeting on Monday night.
“In recent days various allegations and counter allegations have been made in the Cape Town press involving Cape Town Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille, and Councillor JP Smith”.
DA Leader Mmusi Maimane placed the two on special leave from DA activities in the Cape Town metro “until such time as a DA Federal Executive investigation can be concluded”.
“Some time ago, the Leader convened a special sub-committee of the DA’s Federal Executive in order to investigate the political management and governance situation in the City of Cape Town, and to report back to the full FedEx as to what further action is required. This sub-committee will be chaired by John Steenhuisen MP, and is scheduled to begin its hearings today, 3rd October 2017”.
Both have been instructed not to speak to the media on the issue until the investigation is complete. They will not be able to attend DA caucus meetings or interact with anyone testifying before the committee, but the statement said it would not affect their work in government.
“The statements being made in the media on allegations from both the mayor and Alderman Smith are now a subject of investigation by both the panel mentioned above and the City itself. These statements have been inaccurate and are prejudicial to the investigation”.
Responding to reports of alleged irregular security upgrades at her house, the De Lille said in a statement on Monday that she had asked her lawyers about the “appropriate course of action” to take after Smith and members of the city’s Internal Investigations Unit allegedly made “malicious and defamatory remarks” about her.
– African News Agency (ANA)
