The clock is ticking for City of Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille, who has until January 5 to tell the Democratic Alliance (DA) why she should not resign from her post, Eyewitness News reported on Tuesday.
Earlier in December, De Lille was suspended by the DA following allegations of mismanagement at the municipality. According to eNCA, De Lille was also put on special leave by the DA in September.
According to EWN, De Lille also faces governance problems in the city and strained relations with members of her caucus.
Public leadership expert Erwin Schwella told EWN: "There's a serious political battle brewing here. In politics, the opposition sits across from you, but your real enemies sit behind your back –– and that's what is happening here."
De Lille told the Mail & Guardian that as of mid-December, "I'm still waiting for the reasons for my suspension from the party, and will not be commenting any further".
The DA's Phumzile van Damme said De Lille was placed on suspension so that investigations into allegations of wrongdoing could be completed.
"In the light of these developments, it was the view of the federal executive that the mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, needed to be placed on suspension, pending the outcome of these ongoing investigations. The federal executive has also asked her to supply reasons why she should not resign as the mayor. At this stage, no decision other than suspension has been made, pending the provision of the reasons requested by the federal executive," Van Damme said.