Cape Town - Former mayoral committee member for Water and Sanitation Xanthea Limberg has been cleared of any wrongdoing following reports that she falsified her qualifications.
Limberg is set to be given a second chance and appointed as sub-council 20 chairperson in the coming days. Highly placed sources revealed to the Weekend Argus that the DA’s Federal Executive (FedEx) has decided to give Limberg another lifeline after she was excluded from the mayoral committee team due to the qualification saga hovering over her.
The Weekend Argus exclusively revealed last year that Limberg had allegedly falsified her qualifications not only to the DA, but also to other institutions where she represented the City of Cape Town. This led to the DA FedEx investigating her and others accused of lying about their credentials.
The DA is yet to make public their findings following the investigation they announced.
“FedEx met this morning to consider Xanthea’s matter,” said DA City of Cape Town caucus leader and mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
“Their decision was that the circumstances of her case do not preclude her from serving in government. She was already excluded out of Mayco, and she is more than competent for this position. I have no doubt she’ll do a great job in sub-council 20.”
Last month Limberg made waves in the DA caucus after she was appointed its deputy chairperson. DA insiders also told the Weekend Argus that she is part of a strong faction and will survive any scandal as long as she has their backing.
DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille first said she would not reveal details of internal decisions but made a U-turn after a few minutes and confirmed that they were giving Limberg a second chance.
“The FedEx considered all the circumstances including the fact that two previous CBS submitted to the DA were accurate. The FLC panel found no intent to deceive but found her guilty of negligence with a CV submitted to the provincial executive. She will pay a considerable fine, has been appropriately punished and can now start rebuilding her life.”
Zille strongly came out to defend their decision, saying Limberg had suffered enough.
“She was demoted from the Mayco already. She has taken her punishment. We believe in second chances.”
FedEx excluded former Saldanha Bay mayor Marius Koen from returning as mayor or even taking a Mayco position even though he was nominated for both, revealed party insiders.
Responding to Koen’s case, Zille said: “Every case has to be judged on its merits and Xanthea was excluded from the Mayco, as you know. We have proper due process in the DA and each case is considered on its own merits and circumstances. Today Marius is chair of MPAC.”
Weekend Argus