MBALI Ntuli has announced her resignation from the Democratic Alliance (DA), the latest black leader to quit the country’s official opposition.
In a statement, Ntuli confirmed she tendered her resignation as a member of the DA and member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature.
She was instrumental in building up the DA’s support in KwaZulu-Natal townships.
Ntuli unsuccessfully challenged DA leader John Steenhuisen for the federal leadership position in 2020.
“I am immensely proud of the work I have done during my time in the DA. This work stands me in good stead for my next steps,” said Ntuli.
She said it was not race issues that were destroying the party but power grabs by individuals within the party who have vested interests.
“It has been clear to me since at least 2014 that there exists an insider and outsider clique in our party. This is not uncommon in many organisations, but in a political party the size of the DA, with as many members and moving parts, it is crucial to not allow that cult-like mentality to settle and find a home.”
Ntuli first joined the DA at the age of 19, leading the DA youth structures at Rhodes University where she says she was able to interact with young people of different backgrounds who shared the same dream for South Africa.
In 2011, she was a councillor in eThekwini’s Bhambayi area. The following year, she was elected first national chairperson of the DA Youth.
“In 2012, I led the DA’s first real march, which was the march for the youth wage subsidy.
“In 2013, I was elected DA Youth leader,” she said previously.
As the country prepared for the 2016 local government poll, provincial DA leader Zwakele Mncwango assigned Ntuli to campaign for the party in Umkhanyakude District Municipality, in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
During the 2019 elections, she was tasked to help grow the DA’s support in KwaZulu-Natal in the 2019 elections.
- Inside Politics
