Text of the letter from DA national spokesperson Mmusi Maimane to his colleagues in the DA parliamentary caucus, May 22 2014:

Dear Colleague

Congratulations on your election as a Member of Parliament. I am looking forward to serving alongside you for the next five years.

I am pleased to formally announce that I have accepted nomination for the position of Parliamentary Leader.

This is a time of huge growth and potential for our party. I believe the DA can become the core of an alternative government in 2019 if we build bridges across racial and cultural boundaries.

Parliament is our biggest national platform. How we perform in this Chamber over the next five years will be central to whether we succeed or fail in our mission.

I am delighted to announce the names of two Members of Parliament who have agreed to make themselves available to join the parliamentary leadership team.

Anchen Dreyer has accepted nomination for election as Caucus Chairperson. Anchen has 23 years' experience in public Office, first being elected as a councillor in Johannesburg in 1991 and as a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature in 1999. In 2005 she was elected to Parliament, and has since served as a whip and member of numerous portfolio committees.

Currently she is one of the DA's three Deputy Federal Chairpersons.

John Steenhuisen has made himself available for the position of Chief Whip. John was a City Councillor and Caucus Leader in eThekwini for 10 years. In 2009, he was elected Caucus Leader of the DA in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial legislature. John was elected as a Whip in the National Assembly in 2011.

Over the coming week, we will set out our vision for the DA in Parliament. We believe the parliamentary caucus must be a place where members are listened to, treated with respect and feel part of a team. And we want to ensure that, together, outperform every other party, every time.

Please join Anchen, John and me on Wednesday 28 May [...] for a cocktail function at 19h00. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on how we can build a united, winning team in Parliament.

Best wishes,

Signed

Mmusi Maimane

Issued May 22 2014

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