Combative: Democratic Alliance federal council chair Helen Zille has applied to become Johannesburg’s mayor. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
President Cyril Ramaphosa has “ blown his chances” to enter a coalition with the Democratic Alliance (DA), the party’s federal council chair, Helen Zille, said this week.
On the sidelines of the DA’s official release of its candidates lists for the coming elections,
Zille told the Mail & Guardian that her views on working with Ramaphosa’s ANC had changed. In her opinion, working with the governing party now would destroy the DA, she added.
In a 2019 video clip, Zille was recorded saying that if the DA received 20% of the vote and the ANC got 40%, she would make strong demands to work with the ruling party in a coalition.
The question of a coalition between the ANC and the DA has polarised political leaders in the two parties. Some ANC veterans have been open about their position, arguing that having the DA as the party’s coalition partner would bring much-needed stability to the country.
“When I had that interview it was about 2019 or 2020 when everybody still had high hopes that Ramaphosa would be this courageous reformer who would just go in there with a backbone of steel and do things that had to be done to fire the corrupt to get South Africa moving again,” Zille told the M&G this week.
“He has blown that chance and my position has changed entirely. I do not think the ANC can be saved by anyone. I don’t think there’s anybody in it with the courage or the backbone of steel to do what is necessary. The DA has to get stronger and stronger to rescue South Africa.”
Asked whether the party would consider working with the ANC after the elections, Zille said it was not her decision because the DA had decision-making structures. She noted that the DA was already involved in a multi-party charter with organisations it had identified as sharing its broad vision and approach.
This week, the DA released its national and provincial candidate list for the 2024 elections, which showed that nine of the people who made it to the top 10 in 2019 have either left the party, been deployed in other positions, or are now placed far lower than they were five years ago.
The only survivor is DA leader John Steenhuisen, who moved from being number eight in 2019 to number one in 2024.
Since 2019 the DA has experienced the departure of former leader Mmusi Maimane and his supporters and has also held a new leadership election, which would also account for the high turnover in the top 10.
Geordin Hill-Lewis, the mayor of Cape Town, was number nine in the 2019 list but does not feature this year, an indication that he will remain in charge of the city after the 29 May elections.
Maimane left the DA and formed his Build One South Africa (Bosa) party, which will be contesting this year’s election.
Another noticeable departure was that of Patricia Kopane, who joined ActionSA, formed by another former DA member Herman Mashaba. Kopane was recently announced as ActionSA’s premier candidate for the Free State.
Ousted Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse — who was number 185 on the national 2019 list — also did not feature on the 2024 candidate lists. Neither did former Tshwane mayor Stevens Mokgalapa, who was number 78 on the 2019 list but was booted out over a sex scandal. Mokgalapa has gone on to join Bosa.
Those whose fortunes have improved this year include party spokesperson Solly Malatsi, who made it to the top 10 of the national list, while Glynnis Breytenbach moved from 21 in 2019 to 11 this year.
Chief whip Siviwe Gwarube climbed from number 31 in 2019 to number 11, while Natasha Mazzone’s position dipped slightly from 11 in 2019 to 13 in the 2024 national list.
Former Western Cape leader Bonginkosi Madikizela and 947 radio presenter Msizi James have also been included in the top 60 of the list for parliament.
The party has 84 MPs nationally, a drop from its 2014 figure of 89, the DA’s high water mark in parliament. It hopes to benefit this year from the ANC’s projected loss of support — and its Multi-party Charter for South Africa coalition — but the proliferation of new parties competing for voters may see its national electoral decline continuing.
The M&G has reported that on Monday, Steenhuisen introduced 11 of the party’s new candidates for national and provincial government, including community safety activist Ian Cameron, leader of the DA Students Organisation Liam Jacobs, economist Mondli Mdluli, Khathutshelo Rasilingwane, the DA deputy chief whip in Ekurhuleni, and former Nelson Mandela Bay MMC for roads Kabelo Mogatosi.
Steenhuisen said the DA was guided by its values and principles of freedom, fairness, opportunity, diversity, and belief in a meritocratic system of appointment to appoint those who would be its representatives in parliamentary and legislative caucuses.
“These new candidates are diverse in race, gender and skill, and come from a variety of different backgrounds and professional careers,” he said.