Cape Towns mayoral committee member for Safety and Security ?JP Smith could face the axe as the Democratic Alliances deputy caucus leader in the City of Cape Town. (Jason Boud/ANA)
Cape Town’s mayoral committee member for Safety and Security JP Smith could face the axe as the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) deputy caucus leader in the City of Cape Town.
The Mail and Guardian is in possession of a motion that has been tabled by Smith’s council and caucus colleague Courtney Van Wyk.
In that motion Van Wyk notes findings of the so-called Steenhuisen Report into tensions in the party in the Cape Metro.
This is the same report that was used as the basis to remove former mayor Patricia De Lille from office.
Van Wyk’s motion said the report found Smith at the “centre of heightened tensions and disunity within the caucus.”
“This is not the first example of destructive behaviour (from Smith) within the Caucus,” the motion reads.
“Several formal complaints of similar egregious behavior have been reported to the caucus executive.”
Van Wyk accuses Smith of plotting to remove the DA’s Cape Metro regional chairperson Grant Twigg.
Twigg recently survived his own motion of no confidence in his position of metro chairperson.
The motion claims Smith admitted to this apparently saying he was trying to “Save the DA.”
Smith confirmed that the motion will face a vote on Monday morning.
“It’s an internal party matter, so I can’t speak to the media about it… I’m a democrat. I’ll abide by the decision. I respect the right of the mover to move the motion. I believe that the contents of the motion can be readily disproved.”
Smith said the motion against him doesn’t have anything to do with issues playing out in the national DA leadership, but over disagreements in the Cape DA.
The DA has been putting out fires on all fronts in recent weeks.
From murmurs of the removal of party leader Mmusi Maimane, to a bruising internal leadership battle for Federal Executive chairperson between former leader Helen Zille, former Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Athol Trollip, and DA MPs Mike Waters, and Thomas Walters.
In another part of the country, Trollip could soon again be donning the mayoral chain.
A vote of no confidence is expected in the United Democratic Movement’s Mongameli Bobani on Tuesday. If he’s removed, Trollip is likely to replace him.
The City of Cape Town is the only metro where the DA won a clear majority in the 2016 local government elections.