DA‘s crisis of identity and self-positioning

The outcome of the recent, though lesser known elective conference of the DA can be summed up as a "sprinkling of chocolate on top of white cream". At the heart of party that is desperately trying to shed an image of being white, male and conservative is a drive to springboard and parachute anointed blacks into party prominence.

If you browse through the profiles of both Lindiwe Mazibuko and Mmusi Maimane you will realise that the two only joined the DA in 2010. And voila, after two years they are at the helm of the party as parliamentary leader and deputy federal chairperson respectively. Fine, the argument could be that they have during their short stay, acquitted themselves with distinction in the party. Granted but you will have to convince me if there were no other people with better experience, be they black or white who were ready for such positions?

Such springboarding of black people is coupled with crisis of identity and self-positioning by the DA. In this instance there are three main assertions that always prop up whenever Helen Zille speaks, which need to be debunked:

First, that the DA is a good custodian of the Mandela legacy of racial reconciliation:

This is a drive by the DA to project itself as the modern day "Mandela ANC". The ANC acknowledges that Mandela is not its sole preserve. The ANC doesn't hold qualms with all South Africans and in fact the world associating themselves with the Mandela legacy. This is because the ANC has long identified itself as the leader of society and the South African people at large. However, many in the opposition thought the ANC will decline after Mandela retired as its president. They even predicted the party will make a poor showing during the upcoming general elections only to be surprised by its attainment of the two-thirds majority in the 1999 national elections.

The ANC made a successful transition post Mandela presidency because it realised that parties that are stuck in a "supreme leader" mentality often don't grow. Typical examples are the PAC and Azapo who are stuck with the legacies of Mangaliso Sobukwe and Steve Biko respectively. By dropping the names of their heroes at a slightest provocation the latter parties deny themselves an opportunity to ponder innovative strategies.

As a result they fail to send a clear message to the electorate on what they stand for in the current political juncture hence their repeated poor showing in successive general elections. Madiba himself often discouraged people showering him with personal accolades, often humbling himself by stating that all the achievements attributed to him were as a result of a collective effort.  Thus the ANC had rightfully in its centenary celebrations acknowledged the contribution of past and present leaders to its rich heritage and the South African history as a whole. It never singled out Mandela above others.

Further the ANC extended an olive branch over its detractors during the Codesa negotiations. Thus an agreement was reached that the first five years of the democratic -breakthrough should be spent building racial reconciliation in South Africa hence the Government of National Unity (GNU). Unfortunately some misunderstood the racial reconciliation project as an anti-thesis of transformation.

Those who still longed for "apartheid years" were taken aback when the ANC proposed the BEE, Affirmative Action, New Labour Relations Act and related policies which led to among others De Klerk, quitting the GNU. Tony Leon sealed this anti-transformation agenda by calling on whites to adopt a "fight back" strategy.

Second assertion is that the DA assumes the values of moral leadership that the ANC used to be known for:

The tendency is to analyse the ANC based on contemporary history which dates back to 1994. This is an attempt to erase the rich legacy of moral societal leadership which the ANC is renowned for over the years. A quick look into its foundation shows that the ANC was established in the church and since then had most of its leaders as men of clergy.

We can cite here John Dube, Walter Rubusana, Reverend Mahabane and Chief Albert Luthuli to mention but a few. In its quest to attain moral leadership post 1994 the ANC adopted the "Through the Eye of the Needle" document which is emphatic on moral leadership in its structures and also established a Religious Desk. Indeed the jury is still out on how many branches of the ANC are candid enough to apply the prescripts of the "Through the Eye of the Needle" document whenever they nominate people for office; but the DA still has to show us which document guides their leadership nominations.

Third and most preposterous is that the DA can be trusted to hold the interests of black people at heart:

This could be believed if it was not betrayed by Helen Zille scoring own goals from time to time. Not long ago Madame Zille called black children who sought schooling in Western Cape as ‘refugees" in their own country. Recently she showed her true colours when she was rejected by farmworkers to address them; she then retaliated by calling for the army to be deployed as a scare-crow for workers, whose only sin was to demand a decent minimum wage. One would have thought that amidst the income inequalities that are prevalent in this country any conscientious leader would lend her sympathy and support to such genuine demands.  Anyway it made political sense that she had to check on which side her bread is buttered i.e. white business.

The main challenge for Helen Zille still remains to let Cape Town shed an image of being a de-facto "Orania" due the mounting racism that black people experience whenever they visit or tour the City.

Malcolm X. once said "A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything". The DA needs to cultivate its own image and self-positioning rather than ride at the back of the ANC, if it were to be believed that it's the party of the future!

Walter Mothapo is a Member of the PEC of the SACP and a member of the Ike Maphoto Branch of the ANC in Limpopo. These are his personal views!

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