PHUTI MOSOMANE
DEMOCRATIC Alliance (DA) national spokesperson Solly Malatsi has been officially elected as one of three deputy federal chairpersons, making him the only black person elected to a senior position in the party.
Malatsi contested against Lungile Phenyane, Natasha Mazzone, Nqaba Bhanga, and Refiloe Nt’sekhe for the position.
“I am very much excited to have been honoured by delegates at the congress. It’s a massive honour and I want to thank all delegates for the elections. I am happy very the responsibilities given to me,” said Malatsi.
JP Smith was elected as the 1st Deputy and Anton Bredell as the 3rd Deputy in the deputy federal chairpersons’ portfolio.
But for Malatsi, it is not about race, and he does not want South Africans to view the DA in terms of race. “It’s about talent pool and considering each person’s skills set,” he said.
However, social media was abuzz about Malatsi being the only black African leader in the new DA leadership core, given that the majority of people in the country are black.
Phumzile van Damme, a former DA MP, stated that race is still a significant issue in South Africa.
“Just from these results, 2024 is already dead in the water. Race is the DA’s Achilles heel. It has tried for years to shake the perception that it’s not a white party. It doesn’t work. And Blaxit certainly didn’t help. These results don’t either.”
“I’m talking cold hard facts about South Africa and voting patterns. Race is still a very big issue like it or not. The DA knows this too. You speak about how things ought to be, I’m talking about how they are. You can choose to be colourblind if you’d like. The rest of SA isn’t,” she said.
Van Damme commented that with the election results, the DA has become vulnerable, stating “The DA’s share of the vote in the Western Cape could drop below 50%. The party’s overall national vote share could also be greatly reduced. The days of our lives are slipping away, like sands through the hourglass.”
Van Damme congratulated the winners and remarked, “There is a huge race problem in the party. There’s only one black person (who deserves to be where he is due to his hard work). I wish him good luck, and I’m not being sarcastic.”
INSIDE POLITICS
