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After describing the DA as being in, “a permanent state of damage control”, the party’s former youth leader Mbali Ntuli is throwing her hat in the ring to become the party leader in May.
In a letter to top party officials seen by City Press, the former youth leader paints a bleak picture of the state of affairs in the party.
She calls on members to take action to arrest the DA’s decline and to consider installing her as leader when the official opposition party heads to an early elective congress in May.
The conference follows the resignation of former party leader Mmusi Maimane last year and the election of former chief whip in Parliament John Steenhuisen as interim leader.
“We have suffered a series of losses and there doesn’t appear to be any hope in sight that things will get any better soon,” Ntuli writes.
She cites the party’s loss of “500 000 votes in the last election”, the “bleeding of activists and members after losing a party leader [Maimane], chairperson [Athol Trollip] and [Johannesburg] mayor [Herman Mashaba]” as some of the issues the party needs to tackle head on.
Ntuli said as a result of the DA’s performance in last year’s elections and the loss of capable leaders, the party “has lost the confidence of other opposition parties and as a result, lost entire municipalities and no longer control these governments”.
This has also resulted in the loss of donors “who no longer believe in the party”. She acknowledges that this has thrown the party “into a financial crisis”.
“As a result, there hasn’t even been enough funding for constituencies to do political activities. This is our core business as a party,” laments Ntuli.
The former DA youth leader, who represents the party in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature, said the great fear was that many councillors would lose their jobs in the next election.
“I know that the majority of them are looking for other jobs to provide for their family. Every day, I hear from our councillors about their fears of not getting re-elected. This is not because they did not perform, but because our party will not perform. I know that many MPs too, are concerned about their futures,” she writes.
“Just a few months ago we were focusing on winning government. Today, we are in a permanent state of damage control. We no longer plan to take over governments; we are planning to just hold on to our existing support base. And even that seems impossible,” Ntuli says.
She adds that after “careful consideration and introspection” she has “decided to stand for federal leader at our upcoming congress in May”.
Ntuli writes that she will be making a public announcement on February 7 but wished to inform the party of her decision before going public.
Bonginkosi Madikizela, the DA leader in the Western Cape and Gauteng leader John Moodey, have also been touted as possible leadership candidates.
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