20th January 2018 Dear supporters of this petition Thank you for your continued support. Our petition now stands at 1,369 supporters and growing each day. My target is to mobilize 100,000 Cape Town voters to back Patricia De Lille to remain the mayor of Cape Town. MY RESPONSE AS A DA VOTER ON THE BOKAMOSO ARTICLE BY MMUSI MAIMANE ON JANUARY 19, 2018 BOKAMOSO | Values only count when they are tested INTRODUCTION: I am not sure if the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia De Lille, has the right to respond to the allegations by this public newsletter of the Leader of the DA, Mmusi Maimane. If she has been muzzled by the DA, then you are no different than the ANC. I can respond to this article of the DA without fear or favour, because I am a DA voter, but not a member of the DA. I may speak my mind without fearing party discipline, and that is the main reason why I don’t want to be a member of the DA. “The well-being of Cape Town residents matters a great deal to the DA, and I want to assure South Africans that we are dealing with concerns surrounding Mayor Patricia De Lille’s leadership as swiftly and fairly as possible.” MY RESPONSE: As a DA voter, I have always found that the well-being of Cape Town residents matters a great deal to the executive Mayor, Patricia De Lille as well. She has always placed Cape Town first since 2011. Why would she suddenly be found wanting now? “We want to achieve the outcome that is best for the people of Cape Town and we remain committed to clean, accountable government. We are extremely mindful of the need to respond effectively and decisively to the Cape drought.” MY RESPONSE: This is such a loaded statement. Do you not think that De Lille wants to achieve the best for the people of Cape Town, more than any other DA leader that I know? She has worked tirelessly to make Cape Town the best run metropolitan throughout South Africa since 2011, but it seems as if you give her no credit for that, at least. Your silence on her many achievements over the past six years speak volumes to us as voters. “Our values as a party only really count when they are put to the test. Values are easy when everyone agrees and when they are easily applied. But they are hard when the party faces a painful test. Despite the difficulty, the DA will remain true to its values, come what may.” MY RESPONSE: The only person that is facing a painful test today is De Lille herself. DA leaders have nothing to lose other than diminished support in the 2019 national elections. “The laziest analysis in this regard comes from those who claim the DA is no different to the ANC now that we’ve also had a big, public scandal. The differences should be plain to all. The ANC has (over and above all its other sins) consistently acted to ignore the corruption that is putrefying it from the inside, protecting the guilty and sweeping evidence and information under the carpet. This has resulted in a party that is literally split down the middle, and a state that is captured by private rent seekers.” RESPONSE: With this statement I must agree. The ANC is totally corrupt and does not deserve a second chance in 2019. Yes. You are right the state has been captured by the Guptas and the ANC leadership did nothing to stop it. And this is our dilemma as voters, we do not want to vote ANC, because they are too corrupt. Most voters in Cape Town are voting DA, not because we agree with all DA policies, but because the alternative is too ghastly to contemplate. However there are other smaller opposition parties like FF+, COPE, UDM and several others that should be given our attention in 2019, if the DA does not shape up. “This is precisely the opposite of what is happening in Cape Town. We are throwing open the doors and windows to shine light on the situation in the City, because we want to act speedily and forcefully to stop dangerous trends before they gather a momentum of their own. Far from protecting the implicated, we have demonstrated that no one in the DA is ‘untouchable’, and that all are equally accountable to the party and to the law. We genuinely believe that ‘sunlight is the best disinfectant’, not just as a slogan, but as a value.” RESPONSE: Well said. However, it has been alleged that the DA leadership has been aware of the many allegations by the Cape Town caucus about De Lille since August 2017. Why did you not ask De Lille in August 2017 to explain herself to you by means of a face to face DA meeting? Why did you not get all her accusers with De Lille and the DA Federal Executive in one room for a full day to talk about all her weaknesses and mistakes in August 2017 and then come up with solutions if your motive is pure? “The public looks to the DA as a model of clean, accountable government that will act firmly against corruption, uphold equality before the law, and deliver better services than any other government in South Africa.” RESPONSE: No problem with this statement. “We will not betray their trust, even if that means taking very difficult and painful action against our own colleagues. We hold the ANC to a high standard – and we have been relentless in doing so. We must therefore hold ourselves to the same standard, if not an even higher one.” RESPONSE: You say you will not betray our trust, but so has De Lille also not betrayed us with providing her best for the city. My own gut feeling is that this witch hunt is a betrayal of De Lille, who disbanded her own party, the ID, to join and campaign for the DA in 2011 and 2016, with the understanding that she will be candidate number one, the mayoral candidate on the DA’s Cape Town list. If you must discipline De Lille, as a voter, I have no problem with that. But if you remove her as the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, then you and the DA cannot be trusted. “The DA leadership first became aware of problems in the City’s DA caucus in August 2017, when serious allegations of poor leadership, maladministration and governance failures were levelled against De Lille and other senior councillors. We responded by initiating an internal investigation into political tensions, headed by John Steenhuisen; and by ensuring that the City instituted an independent, external investigation by legal firm Bowman Gilfillan.” RESPONSE: Why did you not apply the Matthew 18 principle, the biblical model for dispute resolution? The principle states that if you become aware of a complaint or rumour against a colleague, the first step is to call in the accused with the accusers and to try and sort out the matter amongst yourselves. You do not need internal investigations at this point yet by legal firms, which implies more costs. Political parties only use external players if they intend to get rid of a person, but they do not want to do the dirty work themselves. The Bowman report proves that it was not an independent unbiased investigation, because when De Lille pointed out the factual errors in the report, they refused to correct them. Would the DA consider a judicial inquiry into the allegations made about Mayor De Lille, led by a retired judge, like Dikgang Moseneke? If not, why not? Moseneke is tough and will not be misled by false witnesses making false allegations. “The first internal investigation concluded that while De Lille is extremely hard-working, a great many DA councillors, City staff and colleagues find her leadership style to be obstructive to the successful functioning of both the City administration and the DA caucus, undermining service delivery in Cape Town. A number of specific, serious allegations were made against her, and the Mayor was given extended time to reply to these in full.” RESPONSE: The findings of the first internal investigation on De Lille are based on untested evidence. A court of law will perhaps have a completely different outcome. The report does not give De Lille’s responses to the allegations because the statements were made behind her back and she has not been heard. This is why I believe De Lille when she says this is a witch hunt, because all the evidence points to the fact that this is indeed a witch hunt. “The Bowman Gilfillan report concluded that De Lille behaved and acted in a manner that constitutes gross misconduct and dereliction of duty, including her apparent role in actively covering up serious governance failures.” RESPONSE: The Bowman report is biased because the Mayor said it is biased and why would the Mayor be untruthful about it; we, the voters, should also reject it. Would the DA make the entire Bowman report public, given the fact that you have decided to formally charge De Lille based on the Bowman report? If not, why not? Give us access to all the information, if the DA regards itself as being transparent. “Last Sunday, 14 January, the DA’s Federal Executive (our highest decision-making body) considered the findings of both reports and took a decision to formally charge De Lille. Unfortunately, this decision will draw out the process of achieving resolution. But as a DA public representative who has made a huge positive contribution to the DA and SA, we must give Mayor De Lille further opportunity to fully respond to all allegations levelled against her, which are detailed in my statement released after the meeting.” RESPONSE: You owe it to De Lille and the voters of Cape Town to allow us to hear De Lille full response to all the allegations against her. And please do not gag her. Allow her to speak without fear or favour. “I do not doubt Ms De Lille’s commitment to the greater good. She has played a central, positive role in both SA and the DA. She is much loved within and beyond the DA. She deserves, and will forever have, our respect and gratitude. But central as she has been to the DA and SA’s fortunes, no one is above the party and its constitution, and no individual’s interests are above those of the general public.” RESPONSE: De Lille has never placed her own interest above the party or above the general public in Cape Town. We know that for sure, because she has proven herself over and over. “It has been painful to learn of the dysfunction and resentment that has built up against her in the Cape Town City council. This is the very worst possible time for a problem such as this to arise, in the midst of a major drought crisis and ahead of the 2019 national election. But for the sake of Capetonians and South Africans, the DA is fully prepared to take the necessary action to restore order and functionality to Cape Town Council’s DA caucus.” RESPONSE: De Lille is not the main problem in the Cape Town City Council. Investigate those DA members who want to oust De Lille because they want to promote their own political agendas, and find De Lille to be an obstruction. As voters, we know De Lille is a feisty leader, she is a fighter, a strong woman with guts, and we like her that way. She speaks her mind and is not afraid to give direction. She is human and can mistakes, and we the voters, are prepared to forgive her for any mistakes she has made, and we are prepared to vote DA again. The question is, is the DA leadership prepared to forgive De Lille for whatever mistakes she has made, and are you prepared to let her complete her term as the executive mayor of Cape Town? “The DA owes its loyalty, above all else, to the voters. Their interests must, do, and always will come first.” RESPONSE: Remember, loyalty to the voters mean respecting not only the choice of party but also respecting our choice of Mayoral candidate. We voted for De Lille as mayor of Cape town, and we don’t want any other Mayor. Organise a public meeting in the City Hall and invite us as DA voters to have our say about the De Lille saga. “Some commentators in the media and on social media feel the DA should not be involved in a dispute over De Lille while there is a drought crisis. But the DA cannot ignore serious allegations for this reason. The drought could drag on for years. The people of Cape Town need a council that runs efficiently and effectively, even more so because of this crisis. The true measure of a political party is how it responds to challenges such as this. The DA cannot exercise complete control over how public representatives conduct themselves. No political party can. But we can respond by putting the public interest ahead of party interests and this is what we will do.”