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Eager to cash in on the dividends of the DA’s Johannesburg victory in August’s municipal elections, a group of activists in the party’s Soweto West constituency has taken on constituency head and member of Parliament Toby Chance.
Complaints against Chance include that, despite his other role as DA “shadow minister” of small business, “he does not use his networks and connections within party structures to empower his constituency through jobs [and] failed to assist aspirant entrepreneurs in his constituency”.
City Press has seen a copy of a petition, signed by at least 130 activists across 11 wards in Soweto West, that is demanding that DA Johannesburg regional chairperson and Gauteng MPL Khume Ramulifho launch an urgent probe into Chance’s “fitness to lead” the constituency, which includes areas such as Emdeni, Naledi and Protea.
The DA, through an opposition coalition and support from the Economic Freedom Fighters, managed to oust the ANC in three key metros including the country’s economic hub, Johannesburg, and the capital city of Tshwane in Gauteng, as well as the Nelson Mandela Bay metro in the Eastern Cape.
The electoral victories, albeit through coalitions, gave momentum to the DA’s claim that it was the fastest growing political party in the country and that it was making inroads into the ANC’s traditional voter base in urban townships like Soweto as part of the shifting political landscape.
The activists also accused Chance of failing to provide some of their colleagues with T-shirts during the DA’s final election rally in Dobsonville in Soweto. Others did not get food in their buses, said an activist, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“He is indecisive and cannot make bold or unpopular decisions. He makes promises that he doesn’t keep and has a hostile relationship with members of the constituency.”
Chance was also accused of supporting Johannesburg proportional representation councillor Given Chiloane, who only managed to get 6% in his ward when the target was 10%, while another aspiring candidate, Billy Nyako, surpassed the target and managed to get 14%.
Ramulifho said Chance played no role in promoting any councillor candidate because “the process is so strict to avoid manipulation” and guided by our nomination regulations.
“It is unfortunate that those who make this claim do not understand the process. They must hold on, there will be a next time if they can prove that they are committed to the cause and are not being opportunistic,” he said.
Ramulifho said the DA had “activists who have been with the party for long and they understand that this journey requires commitment and in return their hard work does get recognised through these processes”.
“We have many committed activists who are working with us and have told us that about six activists in the Soweto constituency are angry that they were not elected. Unfortunately they were given wards but failed to win the wards allocated to them,” Ramulifho said.
He said it was also not Chance’s “mandate” to use his connections and networks to empower members. His job was to lead the constituency to ensure that “we achieve the party objectives”, said Ramulifho.
“The party has programmes to empower activists, every second Sunday. We have a political school [and] this is the fourth year running. We also have ongoing training. Each branch can send a request to the region based on the need.”
On the shortage of T-shirts and food, Ramulifho said “all activists who pledged to attend got a T-shirt from constituency officers, not from the political head. This has nothing to deal with the political head”.
He said members joined the party as individuals and they did so voluntarily.
An activist said the DA risked losing more support in the Soweto West constituency in 2019 if their complaints were not taken seriously.
