Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille.
Recent results were encouraging that the DA would snatch Gauteng and the Northern Cape from the ANC, Zille said speaking in Polokwane during the party’s provincial elective congress.
“People who do not learn from history are bound to repeat the same mistakes, and we will make a big mistake if we feel that we are superior and incapable of making the same mistake that the ANC made.”
Zille said the ANC’s mistake started in 2007 by the Polokwane conference where President Jacob Zuma was elected. She said the outcome of the election was a fast route and shortcut to the fall of the ANC.
It would be a mistake if the DA doesn’t learn from the ANC’s failures and if the DA thinks it is superior and incapable of making mistakes, said Zille.
Zille added that the DA is working on taking over the provinces and said people had become disillusioned with corruption and poor service delivery.
She said Gauteng and the Northern Cape had a lot of promise for the DA.
“We are very ambitious, in the last election one out of four voters voted Democratic Alliance and if we continue we will make it,” said Zille.
“Of course it’s a big stretch target… We don’t have time — we don’t want SA to be a complete failed state before we could start to turn [it] around.”
It is very, very hard to turn around a collapsed government, she added.
Crying and bleeding
The party is said to also reveal plans to be the official opposition in Limpopo.
Zille said Limpopo was bleeding and needed the DA.
DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko called on delegated to mobilise in order to take more seats from the ANC.
“Limpopo is the province that is deserving of our time and efforts, its crying out for DA leadership,” said Mazibuko.
“For all the challenges the province faces we are to address them and become official opposition and one day to govern it.”
Earlier, national assembly member Jack Smalle was elected as the new DA leader for the province. He replaces Desiree Van der Walt after the fiercely contested election.
Smalle emerged victorious after four contestants were eliminated in the voting.
Before the election started, Zille warned delegates not to vote for their leadership on the basis of race.