The war between Patricia de Lille and her party, the DA, is far from over as she intends not to resign as Cape Town mayor.

De Lille, who had agreed in principle with party leader Mmusi Maimane in August that she would resign at the end of this month and have all internal charges against her dropped, has made an about-turn. This follows a confidential report recommending the city council should take a disciplinary action against her for failing to report corruption when it was brought to her attention by then city manager Achmat Ebrahim.

"The DA just started launching an exit attack against Patricia de Lille running up to her last days as the longest-serving mayor of the City of Cape Town," said her confidant Rodney Lentit.

Lentit told Sowetan yesterday De Lille became aware over a week ago that some members in the DA have launched "an exit attack" where they want to discredit and smear her name when she bows out as mayor.

"I advised her not to write any resignation letter and that she must stay on for her internal disciplinary hearing. If she leaves next week, it will mean that there will be no disciplinary hearing, but her name will be tainted," said Lentit.

"She told me this morning [yesterday], 'Rodney, you are right, I am not going to resign', and that she intends to stay on as [Cape Town] mayor."

De Lille, flying back to SA from the UK at the time of going to print, had given Lentit her word that she would stay on as mayor as she has not formally submitted a resignation letter to the speaker of council, Dirk Smit. Smit has confirmed that he has not received a letter of resignation from De Lille.

Responding to Lentit's remarks about the report, DA deputy chairperson of federal council Natasha Mazzone said they wanted to ensure De Lille
takes responsibility for her alleged involvement.

"We as the DA have always maintained that this wholly independent investigation should be allowed to run its course so that the full extent of the governance breakdown in Cape Town under De Lille could be independently and fully investigated," Mazzone said.

Mazzone maintained that there were two reports which were looking into De Lille's interference of awarding of tenders in the city.

A second round of council investigations into alleged mismanagement in the city was conducted by law firm Bowmans. Lentit said the independent investigation by Bowmans' Johannesburg report contradicts Bowmans' Cape Town report, where the Cape Town one clears the mayor from all wrongdoing.

"I have been reliably informed by DA insiders that selective bullet points of the '2000+ page' Bowmans' Joburg report was intentionally and strategically circulated to DA-embedded media partners.

"The second more substantive report, which by all accounts includes 2000 pages of detailed evidence based on interviews, legal submissions and other inputs paints a grim picture of De Lille's conduct as mayor."

Councillors will tomorrow be asked to deliberate whether to proceed with criminal charges against De Lille based on the law firm's report.