Allegations that the DA is failing to transform itself internally have resurfaced in the wake of the party’s Gauteng provincial conference.
Former Gauteng leader John Moodey was unseated by Janet Semple last weekend, a move that some black members saw as being anti-transformation.
Their unhappiness was exacerbated by the fact that Moodey won the election at a conference late last year that was annulled because of electoral irregularities.
In an interview this week Semple conceded that the DA needed to push for the transformation of its leadership structures. “That is definitely something we’ll be looking into in our strategic meetings,” she said. “We certainly must prioritise this.”
Two senior leaders in Gauteng told the M&G that Moodey’s ouster was orchestrated by a section of the party that was intolerant of leaders of colour. They asked to remain anonymous, saying they feared reprisal.
The two claimed that the DA’s condemnation of Moodey on the eve of last weekend’s conference was designed to cut his chances of re-election.
In findings released a day before the election, the party’s disciplinary panel found Moodey guilty of “robust electioneering” and “admonished” him for claiming at last October’s congress to have the support of the party’s women’s network, Dawn.
Disgruntled Moodey supporters claim the ban on “robust electioneering” was new and introduced as a blocking tactic. “That long disciplinary process was to push him to a point where he got tired and gave up,” said a provincial leader sympathetic to him.
The leader said that no efforts were made to include black leaders. “You hardly find people of colour emerging in the leadership. We usually have people coming in and then leaving because they feel they cannot grow beyond their [white counterparts].”
Another black leader said the party was not living up to its slogan, “building an open-opportunity society for all”. “These people do not want leaders of colour in positions of power. Because we see things differently, we are perceived to be ineffective,” the leader said.
He said black leaders were often reminded in meetings that the DA was “not the ANC”.
However, a DA MP who opposed Moodey’s re-election said the former leader had led the province badly.
“Gauteng has a lot of capacity to come up with ideas and good campaigns. Yet in the last election we performed poorly,” said the MP.
In last year’s poll the DA’s share of the Gauteng vote rose slightly, from 20.78% in 2004 to 21.86%.
The MP also accused Moodey of being “divisive” and of creating an environment in which people jostled for positions. Moodey accepted the election results immediately after the conference and pledged his support for Semple.
This week he refused to be drawn on the alleged lack of transformation, saying only that he had performed well during his term. “The party struggled to get more support in some previously disadvantaged areas because of the emergence of Cope,” he said.
He said he would continue working for the DA, saying: “I don’t need a title to be a leader.”
Moodey remains caucus leader in the provincial legislature, a position he will contest next month when fresh caucus elections take place.