Eye on the prize: Bonginkosi Madikizela says he’s looking ahead to the 2019 national elections
Interim Democratic Alliance Western Cape leader Bonginkosi Madikizela is working hard to dispel reports of divisions in the party and denies that party members are at odds.
Debate is part of the culture of the DA, he says. “Sometimes people make decisions when they feel that their views are not taken in the way that they would like them to, but that does not mean that there are divisions,” he said in an interview with the Mail & Guardian.
Madikizela was elected as the party’s interim Western Cape leader following the sudden resignation of Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille from her provincial position in January. At the time, De Lille said she was stepping down to focus on her work in the city.
But her resignation was soon followed by others, including that of caucus chair Rodney Lentit, who left the legislature, and Koos Malooi, who resigned as Beaufort West mayor. Both leaders hailed from De Lille’s now-defunct Independent Democrats party. Because of this, the ANC in the Western Cape raised concerns about the “cleansing” of ID members from the DA.
“It is clear to us that the ID and its former leaders have lost their usefulness, now that they have helped the DA to attain 66% of the votes in the City of Cape Town,” the ANC said in a statement.
But this week Madikizela rubbished these claims, saying all those who resigned had genuine reasons for doing so and remained members of the DA.
“All of these people are still members of the Democratic Alliance. There’s no evidence really that former members of the ID are being marginalised. This is a figment of imagination in the minds of people who are seeking relevance by really raising non-issues and making them issues,” he said.
Madikizela’s ascension to the position was characterised by messy campaigning. Two top leaders — Helen Zille and De Lille — were reported to be on opposite sides, with Zille backing Madikizela and De Lille behind Cape Town chair Shaun August.
August’s detractors wanted him out of the running because of his involvement in a procurement scandal within the party. Many of Madikizela’s detractors claimed he was not a suitable candidate because he didn’t represent the coloured majority in the province, a sentiment Madikizela said had no place in the DA. “There are very few people who tend to use race. When people want to advance their narrow interests, they bring this as an issue,” Madikizela said.
“People who say those things are people who suffer from inferiority complex because they think that a black child cannot be a leader. Those are propagandists.”
Now Madikizela will have to hush the noise about the DA being a divided party if it is to meet its goal of bringing the ANC’s national support to below 50% in the 2019 national elections.
“Unity and rallying behind that common goal are going to be crucial for all of us. This is not about our egos; it’s about the bigger picture,” Madikizela said. “I’m not only looking at these six months; I am now the leader of this party in this province and we need to put together a long-term plan because we are just 800 days away from the 2019 election.”
Madikizela has had a turbulent history in political organisations. He was expelled from the ANC in 2006 after it was found that he and other disgruntled party members from Khayelitsha intended to contest the municipal elections that year as independent candidates.
He joined the United Democratic Movement a year later, serving as the party’s Cape Town metro secretary. But his stay was short-lived after the party found out that he had recruited other UDM members to join the DA.
He worked as a communications officer and later as spokesperson for Zille when she was Cape Town mayor, before his upward trajectory took him to the position of MEC for human settlements and the party’s deputy leader in the Western Cape.
But he believes his political track record is not a barrier to showing his commitment to the DA.
“Show me one black person who hasn’t been part of another party who is part of the DA [now]. This is part of our history. The truth is many of us were groomed in a number of former liberation movements.”
As interim leader of the DA’s main stronghold province, Madikizela occupies a strategic position that could take him a step closer to occupying the party’s national office.
All eyes will be on the Western Cape’s provincial council in August, where a permanent party leader will be chosen. Madikizela says he will make himself available for election if the party believes he needs to stay on permanently.
On the prospect of one day becoming national leader of the DA, he says, although he has ambitions of occupying the position, he will remain measured in his desires. “Of course I would want to see myself leading the party one day, but timing is everything. You have to do it correctly; you have to take people with you.
“Leading [the] party one day is a dream I think everyone should have because it makes you work harder.”