Gerald Morkel, once Western Cape premier, Cape Town mayor and Democratic Alliance provincial leader, will be handed his political death certificate at the Democratic Alliance provincial congress in Stellenbosch on the weekend of February 28 to March 2.
After months of public controversy over his role in the political donation saga linked to German tax fugitive Jurgen Harksen, Morkel is not expected to play any role at the congress. Serving as an ordinary councillor, Morkel is widely regarded within his own party as being disgraced, even though there was insufficient evidence to press criminal charges against him.
The provincial leadership contest revolves around four other candidates. They are Theuns Botha, the current acting provincial leader credited with ensuring the Cape south coast municipalities remained within the DA fold during the October defection period; Pauline Cupido, whose profile in the Western Cape was recently raised by moving from Parliament to the provincial legislature; DA MP and arts and culture spokesperson Sydney Opperman, who came to Parliament from George in 1999; and the relatively unknown Tony da Silva.
Should Botha not be elected provincial leader, he is expected to win the chairpersonship of the party. It is understood he would make himself available for both posts.
Despite speculation, it is unlikely that Helen Zille, the DA’s provincial caucus leader, will move to the provincial executive. She was recently elected chairperson of the metro regional council, one of three in the province. The councils are set to become the key party structures regulating the DA’s functioning in the Western Cape.
According to senior party officials, Saturday’s congress is seen as a turning point after a torrid year marked by the Harksen scandal, vicious backroom politics during the municipal defection period and the break with the NNP.
One senior DA official said the climate in the party had ”changed very, very rapidly from survival to victory” in recent weeks. A key development had been the corruption charges laid against former NNP premier Peter Marais and former social development deputy minister David Malatsi.
But the congress comes amid administrative headaches in certain branches in the province. The Pine-lands branch lodged a formal complaint over how Morkel was elected chairperson of the Cape Town unicity party caucus late last year. An investigation has been launched by the federal legal committee, whose findings are expected early next week.
In addition, the Hout Bay branch last week asked provincial structures to investigate attempted election irregularities at its October special annual branch meeting.
At stake is an attempt by Marga Haywood, also chairperson of the local community policing forum, to oust branch chairperson Pieter Venter through proxy votes and votes by members not yet registered by the party.
Her request for votes by these ”members”, allegedly backed by MP Colin Eglin, was turned down by the election supervisor. The new branch executive included Venter as chairperson, but excluded Haywood.
Zille, in her capacity as local management committee chairperson, and DA national management committee chairperson James Selfe were drawn into the dispute — described as ”a personality clash” — as tensions continued for more than three months over the legal status and whereabouts of scores of membership applications proffered by Haywood.
Western Cape acting chairperson Theuns Botha confirmed the request for an investigation by Hout Bay had been referred to the provincial legal committee. Once that committee had looked into the matter, the provincial DA council would decide whether action was required, Botha said.
Meanwhile, Venter has sought legal advice after Haywood accused him of ”fraud and criminal behaviour” in a local monthly newspaper.