/ 30 December 2018

Lennit Max leaves the DA, joins the ANC

Lennit Max says he has repeatedly offered the DA the benefit of his crime-fighting expertise
Lennit Max, who is also the former provincial police commissioner, was appointed as special adviser to Police Minister Bheki Cele in July. (David Harrison/M&G)

Former Democratic Alliance Western Cape MPL Lennit Max has resigned from the party with immediate effect and has now joined the ANC.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Max said: “I have decided that enough is enough and I can no longer be associated with a political party such as the DA, which regards political agendas, personal egos and self-interest as more important than the lives of our people.”

“It is clear that the people of the Western Cape are good enough only to serve as voting fodder for the DA, but not deserving of a safe environment to live in.

“As a result, I am resigning as a member of the DA with immediate effect. I’m taking out membership of the ANC,” he said.

Max, who is also the former provincial police commissioner, was appointed as special adviser to Police Minister Bheki Cele in July.

New normal

Max said the ANC under the leadership of President Cyril Ramaphosa was the “only party that can turn around the situation in South Africa”, adding that Ramaphosa was “busy establishing a new normal” of placing South Africans first.

“It is clear to me that President Ramaphosa and the ANC leadership want to ensure that South Africa is better tomorrow than it is today. It is, therefore, now more than ever before, time for good men and women to lend a hand to assist the President and the ANC make South Africa work.

“The President has a vision and already set the direction on how South Africa will be governed after the 2019 elections,” he said.

Three years ago, Max lost the battle to run the DA in the Western Cape when almost 70% of the delegates charged with choosing a new leader voted for Patricia de Lille, News24 previously reported.

He also recently lost the same position to Bonginkosi Madikizela in October 2017, when the party voted to replace De Lille.

READ MORE: DA backs Max’s move as Madikizela fumes

Before joining the party, he was the provincial police commissioner between 1999 and 2003 and has a variety of qualifications in policing and law. — News24