DA faces tougher ANC, EFF challenge

FRIDAY JANUARY 12 2018 A UNITED ANC and a stronger EFF will be the main challenges to the DA’s new provincial leadership, set to be elected at its KwaZulu-Natal congress early next month.

This is the view of the DA’s former provincial leader and current member of the provincial legislature (MPL), Sizwe Mchunu.

The latter, who was mum on whether he would take on incumbent provincial leader Zwakele Mncwango (who has accepted nomination for a second term), said he hoped the party would emerge from the conference committed to doing things better.

“We need to come out with a plan that will clearly show that we’re going to grow the party,” Mchunu said. The party could not shy away from the fact that it was faced with very serious political competition in KZN.

He said the political competition in KwaZulu-Natal was particularly saturated and if the ANC in the province emerged from its court battles united it would pose a new challenge while the EFF had also emerged as serious competition.

Nominations for the party’s top leadership positions, including that of the provincial leader, deputy leader, chairperson and the three deputy chairpersons, closes on Monday.

Mergan Chetty, the party’s provincial deputy leader, said yesterday he had accepted the nomination to continue in his current position and was confident the party would increase its support base in the province, which he said “was there for the taking”.

He said the infighting in the ANC would be an important factor in their quest to take over the province.

DA chairperson Haniff Hoosen, speaking to Independent Media after landing from an overseas trip yesterday, said he had not yet made a decision on whether or not he would stand for any of the positions due to being abroad when the nominations were opened on Monday.

“Obviously, these things work according to nominations, so I don’t even know whether I have been nominated.

“If I have been nominated I will give some thought and decide as nominations close on Monday,” Hoosen said.

Heinz de Boer, the DA’s eThekwini Municipality’s executive committee member and Ward 35 councillor in Umhlanga, said he would not be standing for any position. He backed Mncwango. “I have absolutely no ambition to stand for that position, or any other position at our provincial congress. “I’m 100% behind Zwakele. “He is an excellent provincial leader and I will be backing him for that reason,” De Boer said.