IN-DEPTH
Cape Town risks being placed under administration
The status quo means Cape Town faces the real possibility of slow council resolutions or worst — the city's functions come to a standstill, writes Bekezela Phakathi
Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille may have narrowly survived a motion of no confidence in her, but the continuing stalemate in the city council raises the spectre of the city being placed under administration. De Lille, who was re-elected on a DA ticket following the party’s resounding victory in Cape Town in the 2016 municipal elections, has lost the support of a majority of the 154-strong DA caucus in the city since she was accused of corruption and maladministration. She survived the no-confidence vote by a single vote, largely because of the support from opposition parties, in the main the ANC, and partly because some DA councillors have remained loyal to her. The motion needed a simple majority of the 231-seat council to succeed. The DA has 154 seats, followed by the ANC with 57 and the EFF with seven. This means the mayor, having been elected on a DA ticket, is in effect governing on an opposition mandate — a first for local government in SA since the dawn of democracy in this...
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