The Democratic Alliance is facing an exodus of black members, who accuse the party of racism in its ranks.
This week the DA caucus in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, suspended two of its leaders in Thembisa, accusing them of encouraging members to desert the party and join the opposition. The members, Siphiwe Mgenge and Sydney Ledwaba, are also accused of failing to perform their duty to campaign for the party ahead of the election.
They remain ordinary members of the party. Mgenge confirmed his suspension but said: “All those allegations against me are unfounded.”
The DA’s only black member in the Gauteng legislature, Sibongile Mahlangu, one of five serving DA MPLs, has registered her dismay at her position — number 32 — on the party’s list of provincial candidates. “Even an unintelligent person can see that it is an unelectable position,” she remarked. Mahlangu said racism was a problem in the party and she had “thrown in the towel”.
The DA in the province has said Mahlangu would be deployed at local government level.
The only other black DA legislature member was Professor Themba Sono, who dumped the party last year for the newly formed Independent Democrats.
The Mail & Guardian has been told that numerous black DA councillors are considering defecting to the African National Congress, but with the window period for defection only opening in September many are worried about losing their livelihoods.
A DA councillor in Ekurhuleni said some blacks felt they were being used to support mainly white candidates.
But Gauteng leader Ian Davidson denies any racial discomfort in the DA. “I don’t know where this comes from. It is purely rubbish. A few weeks ago we launched in Soweto where about 90% of the people who were present were black. It was the most exhilarating experience of my life. Just because two people did not make it high enough on the list has nothing to do with race. Let’s not make a mountain out of a molehill. I have had white people who are low in the list cry in my office. Is that a racial issue?” he asked.
Also this week, in Durban, former Minority Front member Visvin Reddy left the DA just a few weeks after joining it, accusing the party of racism. “I definitely could not survive four weeks in the DA. My move may sound bizarre but the level of racism is unbelievable in the DA. Their structures are all white dominated. I have found that the DA is using Indians, Afrikaners, whites and Africans as nothing less but cannon fodder.”
Reddy, who was number seven on the KwaZulu-Natal list for the national Parliament, has joined the ANC.