Zille might not be eligible for DA post
Agreement reached after colonialism comments may bar her from joining race for federal chair
The DA is seeking legal advice on whether former leader Helen Zille can contest the position of federal chair, Business Day understands, days after she threw her name in the hat for arguably the most powerful position in the party.
Zille could be barred from contesting the position with other party heavyweights, including federal executive chair Athol Trollip and his deputy, Thomas Walters, after reaching a settlement in January 2018 with the DA to step down from all structures following her comments on social media that colonialism was not all negative.
A source with direct knowledge of the matter told Business Day the party was getting legal advice on whether she could now stand for the position, which is akin to a party’s political CEO. The role is equivalent to that of the ANC’s secretary-general.
Zille’s intention comes as Mmusi Maimane works to fend off mounting pressure over his leadership following a poor electoral performance in May.
More recently he has faced pressure over a rented Cape Town house that he initially declared to parliament as his own and a Steinhoff-sponsored high-end vehicle he continued using months after an accounting fraud rattled the firm.
Zille said on Sunday that she had not looked at the agreement in quite some time but that she had been very active in the party for a long time, which included campaigning during the election and making robocalls to voters at the request of the party leadership.
The federal chair position became vacant after James Selfe resigned to head up the DA’s governance unit which takes effect in October in the wake of the loss of significant support in the May general election.
The list of nominees includes former deputy chief whip Mike
Waters, who recently demanded accountability and transparency from Maimane.
Last week Maimane met with a review panel, which was set up after the elections to look at the party’s structures and processes. It is set to submit its report to the federal council, the highest decision-making body between congresses, later in October.
It is understood that during the meeting with Maimane, members of the panel, which included former DA leader Tony Leon and former party CEO Ryan Coetzee, spoke about a broad leadership change, which included the DA leader.
The panel, when it hands over its report to the party, is likely to suggest a change and is also likely to suggest that the DA go to an early congress. Maimane is said to have asked the panel to submit the report to the federal executive, which is set to meet later this week.
RESIGNATION CALL
Senior DA leaders said last week that they were expecting the review report to be used to call for the resignation of Maimane, who is serving his second term as leader of the DA.
While Zille’s possible return to the top leadership of the party has elicited mixed reaction, her successful election as chair of the federal council would pose significant challenges for Maimane.
A senior party member said if Zille were to be elected, it would be challenging for anyone who leads the party as she would “overshadow” them, but desperate times called for desperate measures and she would be the right medicine to fix the ailing party.
Another party leader, however, said that Zille herself has changed over the years.