Johannesburg – With the DA reeling from its poor performance during this week’s municipal by-elections, it has now emerged that a nasty battle is ensuing for the party’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, the country’s economic hub.
This comes hot on the heels of another murky battle for the party’s mayoral candidacy for the City of Cape Town, which has seen one of the contestants, DA leader in the Western Cape Bonginkosi Madikizela, accused of misrepresenting his qualifications. Two factions in the DA’s Joburg caucus are allegedly deeply divided over racial lines about who should be the official opposition’s candidate for the mayorship of Joburg metro, which commands one of the biggest budgets in the country.
Insiders allege that white supporters of the DA caucus leader in Johannesburg, Leah Knott, who is also a former member of mayoral committee (MMC) of economic develop- By Sandile Motha Embattled former Gauteng MEC for health Bandile Masuku is not going down without a fight.
Last week, the ANC provincial disciplinary committee recommended that Masuku step aside and relinquish his position as member of the provincial executive committee (PEC) for bringing the party into disrepute.
This was after the special investigating unit (SIU) found that the former MEC had lacked oversight when awarding R125-million worth of tenders to Royal Bhaca, the company linked to Amabhaca king Madzikane II Thandisizwe Diko, the late husband of presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko.
In October, Gauteng premier David Makhura fired Masuku using an SIU preliminary report that found that “he failed to execute his function in compliance with the constitution and the Public Finance Management Act”.
Masuku has since penned an appeal seeking to nullify the decision taken by the provincial disciplinary committee.
In his appeal seen by Sunday World this week, Masuku said his suspension was procedurally flawed, adding that the sanction for him to step aside from the PEC was inconsistent with the ANC constitution.
“The provincial disciplinary committee misdirected itself in that it made a determination about the work of the SIU, notwithstanding there being no evidence being led before the disciplinary hearing in this regard.
“The provincial disciplinary committee also misdirected itself in that it made a determination about the charged member having been requested by the chairperson and secretary of the ANC [Jacob Khawe] to voluntarily resign as MEC … which was never the evidence led by any of the parties before the disciplinary hearing,” charged Masuku in the appeal papers.
He further stated in his appeal papers that the committee did not take into account the “undisputed” evidence led by him on the doctrine and principles of separation of powers between the MEC as the executive authority and the administration during the hearing.
Masuku said he was a victim of unfair prosecution and blamed media reports for his woes, saying the party had relied on media reports to suspend him.
Government in the city of Joburg, are pushing for her to be chosen as the mayoral candidate. Black members of the caucus are rooting for the former MMC of health, Dr Mpho Phalatse, to become the party’s official candidate.
The fight among white and black members in Johannesburg has triggered new allegations that the DA is trying to drive black leaders out of the party by putting only whites in key positions.
“White DA leaders are fighting so bad to push for Leah to be chosen as a mayoral candidate. They are even using blackmail tactics to push Mpho back,” said a party insider. Another top leader within the DA claimed that even some leaders in the echelons of the party was pushing for Knott to be chosen ahead of Phalatse.
“Black leaders are being targeted in the party and it is clear that white members are reclaiming the DA to themselves. Blacks are not part of DA plans and this is a clear indication that we need to see a way out,” said one DA leader who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal.
Knott told Sunday World that no one was pushing her to run for the position. “Neither of us has any clique backing us. We both went through a rigorous application process, ” she said.
“There is no division in our caucus over this, we are probably the strongest and most cohesive we have been in a while.”
Phalatse would only say: “The DA’s mayoral candidate selection process is still under way, so as per the rules of the party, I will not be engaging the media at this stage.” Meanwhile, political analysts have attributed the ANC’s recent by-elections victory to the electorate’s interminable sense of forgiveness to the governing party, saying South Africans were under the spell of the ANC. Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said the recent by-elections results showed abnormality and pointed to weaker opposition parties.
“It is very strange to see the ANC holding up while struggling so much to govern properly. It’s not politics of the issues, instead it is identity politics. This is a worrying trend because for instance, the DA performs well in governance, but they are being punished. “This is a very strange turn of events. It looks likely that in the upcoming local government elections, although the ANC will not be getting into an overwhelming majority, it will hold stronger,” said Mathekga.
Another political analyst, Professor Tinyiko Maluleke attributed the ANC’s success to longevity, good political strategy and branding.
“Everybody knows that a new DA was created when Mmusi Maimane was booted out. In fact, the booting out of Maimane was part of the process of creating a new DA. That is a DA without Patricia De Lille, Herman Mashaba and Lindiwe Mazibuko.
“There has been a whitening of the DA led by Zille and Steenhuisen. More and more people will feel the distance especially black people between themselves and the DA.”
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
Sunday World
