[Watch]De Lille agrees to step down as Mayor: Maimane

Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille is to resign effective from October 31. DA leader Mmusi Maimane announced in a joint press briefing in Cape Town.

Mayor Patricia de Lille has agreed to resign as mayor of Cape Town effective from 31 October 2018. And what we will do as a party is to ensure that we begin the process of electing a new mayor with immediate effect.

“I also want to state that the DA has made a decision to withdraw all internal disciplinary charges against Patricia de Lille. Any other investigations that are taking place in the city fall outside this particular agreement,” Maimane says.

This follows a long legal and political tussle between De Lille and the DA.

The media briefing comes just weeks after the DA attempted to remove her with a second motion of No Confidence in her, but withdrew the motion at the last hour.

De Lille says she feels relieved that she has cleared her name and she can now focus on the future.

“What our country needs, more than ever before at this point in time of our history, is for leaders to put their differences aside and work even more harder to address the historical imbalances of the past.

“Now, whilst I’ve been fighting for my rights to prove my innocence and although I was ready to proceed with the disciplinary hearing, I also realised that this fight between myself and the DA cannot continue forever. I’ve decided to step aside and look into the future,” De Lille explains.

The DA-controlled city council has stripped her of her executive powers, but failed to remove her in a motion of no confidence.

The DA leader says this agreement is an opportunity to close a “difficult chapter in our history and to open a new one. We will continue to put the people first in all we do.”

Maimane will not give away any name on possible replacement for De Lille.

Watch the full media briefing…