The official opposition Democratic Alliance has acknowledged that it had on a number of occasions attempted to recruit Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille before she left the Pan Africanist Congress last year.
De Lille said — at a press conference in Gauteng on Tuesday when she introduced her premier candidates in the nine provinces — that she had been approached to join the DA ”on several occasions”.
This was confirmed in an e-mail from DA chief whip and elections spokesperson Douglas Gibson, but he said that she had asked to be rewarded with either the premiership of the Western Cape or the mayor of Cape Town — positions which the DA aims to snatch back from the African National Congress/New National Party alliance.
The admission — of holding talks — from both parties has now stirred a hornet’s nest.
De Lille said on Tuesday that the DA had approached her ”on more than five occasions (to cross to the Democratic Alliance). They did so over the past two years including (party leader) Tony Leon, Douglas Gibson and (deputy chief whip) Mike Ellis… all of them approached me.”
”They said because the PAC was busy dying I should join … but I said I had lots of other options.”
Asked if she had asked to be premier or mayor during these recruitment talks, De Lille said that her friend and former Human Rights Commission member Rhoda Kadalie had been offered those positions, ”not me”. Asked again if she had asked for the posts, De Lille said: ”There was no ways I mentioned them.”
De Lille left the PAC last year during the official defection period for members of Parliament and instead of joining the DA, she formed the new party, the Independent Democrats, which party workers acknowledge is picking up support in white and coloured areas in particular — two key constituencies which the DA needs to win the Western Cape.
Asked to comment on the talks, Kadalie said she did not wish to compromise her friendship with De Lille. But she confirmed that De Lille ”was interested in joining the DA. I think she was bargaining with them.”
Pressed on whether she had been offered these posts herself, she said: ”I was never interested in politics.”
Kadalie said: ”She was Gibson’s drinking pal. Gibson won’t just make it up. I know that she asked them for certain things but I don’t know what she asked of them. He would not say that without foundation as they were big chommies at the time. ”
Meanwhile DA canvassers have been asked to deal with ID supporters — which the party is predicting will get 1% of the vote (or four seats in Parliament) — by focusing on her past statements.
It says that she was quoted as saying on the issue of emigration of whites: ”The media should encourage them (white people) to leave… one settler, one air ticket (Sunday Times, March 27, 1994).”
Canvassers are also asked to quote De Lille as saying: ”It’s not good enough to say that we are doing too little about Zimbabwe. What should we do? Go and hit President Mugabe? (Die Burger, 24 September 2002)”
De Lille said in response: ”I won’t even respond to that. The DA is stuck in the past. They will remain in the racial past. They must go into the files of their own leader.” – I-Net Bridge