The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday revealed that it had informed Patricia de Lille and the Cape Town City manager that it had decided to cease her membership following what the party calls “her admission to resign”.

De Lille is no longer the mayor of Cape Town, following seven-years at the helm of the city. Deputy mayor Ian Neilson will serve as acting mayor.

The DA pointed out that De Lille had indicated in a radio interview that she had intended to resign as soon as she had “cleared her name”.

Accordingly, the Federal Executive resolved to endorse the finding of the Federal Legal Commission (FLC) that De Lille’s membership had ceased as of 26 April, the date of the radio interview, said the DA.

The party said it had followed due process in addressing the matter, while acting in the best interests of the people of Cape Town and abiding by the party’s deep commitment to delivering clean, accountable and transparent government wherever it governs.

The DA also admitted that it had suffered damage owing to the lack of information given to voters on this issue and had apologised to the citizens of Cape Town for the confusion.

“The fact that De Lille has ceased to be a member renders the other processes (the disciplinary and the operation of the accountability clause) moot. The Federal Executive did, however, support the motion passed by the caucus, and will apply the accountability clause should the need arise. The Federal Executive has therefore not at this point made any decision on the accountability aspect,” said the party.

The DA thanked De Lille for her service and wished her well in her future endeavours. 

The DA concluded that it would need to rebuild trust with the voters and asserted that it would do its best to ensure that the party gets back to the business of governing Cape Town.