So Many Questions

Human settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela was elected interim leader of the DA in the Western Cape after the sudden resignation of Patricia de Lille. The party will choose a permanent leader at its congress in August. Chris Barron asked him . . .

Were you a proxy candidate for the Helen Zille group? That’s so funny.

Did she ask you to stand? No. When De Lille resigned the provincial executive committee took a decision for me to stand in as interim leader until the next provincial congress in August.

Will you stand? That will depend.

On what?

We have to make a decision that is in the best interests of the party. We have to look at the leadership holistically.

We have three regions in the Western Cape and the provincial structure. We have to make sure that the team that comes out at the elections is a diverse team that reflects who we are as the party.

So it’s about colour? Let me put it bluntly: we can never have a situation where four black people are elected as leaders. Or four white people or four coloured people. When we say we’re a diverse party, our leadership must reflect that.

Your critics say the DA in the Western Cape is not ready for a black leader ... We are not a party of black nationalists, coloured nationalists or white nationalists. We’re a party that embraces diversity.

So in the DA merit takes a back seat to colour? No, absolutely not. You can’t say that merit means that it’s only one particular race group that is competent. That is why part of my responsibility as the leader is to make sure that leadership contests don’t become popularity contests.

Isn’t that what elections are in a democracy? No. Leaders must make sure that we elect competent people and find those people across the racial spectrum. We can’t allow the leadership race to be a popularity contest and end up with a situation that does not reflect who we are as a party.

Is there a concern that having a black leader such as yourself might alienate coloured voters? Absolutely not.

So why the need to balance the races so carefully? I’m not saying we should balance the races, I’m saying we should reflect who we say we are. We must reflect our values.

Values or demographics? It’s very much about values. We’re a party that embraces diversity.

Why did De Lille resign so suddenly? She explained that she wanted to focus on the city of Cape Town. We have no reason to doubt that.

Shouldn’t you focus on delivering houses for the poor? Who says I can’t do both? Our leader of the party is also the leader of the opposition in parliament. Helen was the leader of the party nationally and she was also the premier. So why should that be an issue? Unless . . .

Why should it be an issue for De Lille? . . . unless a person is deciding that “I’m going to focus on this”.

Is there anything more important for the DA than delivering houses? I can’t just sit and do that. I also have to make sure the party gets more votes.

Isn’t the best way to do that to build more houses? That’s a very wrong assumption. If you have been observing the way people vote in South Africa you will understand that in some communities service delivery does not equate to votes.

So it’s not important for the DA to show it’s a party that can deliver? We are delivering.

Why are there so many shacks? If you have an economy that is growing as fast as the population you wouldn’t have this problem. Anyone who thinks you can eradicate shacks overnight doesn’t understand the real dynamics of what is happening in our country.

Would it be unfair to suggest you just see your role as MEC as a stepping stone for the provincial leadership? Very, very unfair.

You don’t have political ambitions? Anyone who is working for a company who says he has no dream of becoming the MD one day, that person has no business being there.

So what you’re saying is you’d very much like to stand for the provincial leadership in August? I would very much like to lead this party one day.

Would you be happy to step aside in August if Zille decides to stand? This has nothing to do with Zille.

What would your priority be as provincial leader? Make sure we consolidate our support.

Are the wheels coming off in Beaufort West? No. The honest truth is that our mayor had some challenges in his family and because of that decided to resign.

How safe is your coalition? We need to win the by-election in his ward.

And if you lose, you lose Beaufort West? Absolutely.

Did Aunt Winnie congratulate you? Yes, she did. We had a long conversation on Tuesday.