We’re in dire straits and need Zille now
Helen Zille’s passion, patriotism and organisational strengths are what lifted the DA from a small opposition party (11% of the national vote) which was merely a thorn in the flesh of the ANC behemoth (at that time approaching 70% of the vote) to serious contender status, wresting the Cape Town metro, and then the Western Cape provincial government, from the grip of the predatory, corruption-riddled governing party.
Progressively, the DA began taking control of many municipalities across the country, and then, other major metros.
The ANC saw the writing on the wall about 10 to 12 years ago.
Knowing that it could not match an increasingly influential DA in terms of good governance and accountability, it quickly set up full time backroom teams to constantly scour social media, with the aim of dragging up dirt on DA leaders.
SA’s sensation-seeking tabloid press (which by then included the Iqbal Surve-controlled Independent Media group) played its part in giving free rein to what was essentially ANC propaganda, assisting its strategy to take down what was proving to be highly effective DA leadership, which had the integral participation and contribution of Helen Zille.
It was put out there that the DA was a party “solely for the benefit of whites”.
When Mmusi Maimane took over the national leadership of the party, the ANC vociferously claimed he was not in charge as “Zille was his madam”.
Zille’s tweet that “colonialism was not all bad” was decontextualised by the ANC trolls who then portrayed Zille as “thoroughly racist”.
The DA leadership now (and for the past several years), does not have the conviction, gravitas or unity to stand up to, or expose, the ANC’s political chicanery.
It has also been unable to rouse and rally the rank and file of the party to derail the ANC bandwagon.
Sadly, though Cyril Ramaphosa’s emergence from the party ranks was a hopeful sign, the ruling party is dysfunctional and riven by factions and there is little hard evidence that it is finally cleaning up its act.
The reason Zille is still relevant in SA politics is that patriotic South Africans (and there are many) know her to be the only authentic individual who has shown the essential passion and commitment to our country needed to save us from our self-serving politicians.
Our current politics of coalition, which has managed to partially unseat the nefarious ANC and once had the promise and potential of far more, was engineered and made possible by Zille’s driving spirit.
I honestly believe if we had patriotic, competent people running our government, Helen Zille would have already retired gracefully (and thankfully), to enjoy peace of mind in the time left to her.
As things stand, we can only hope that Zille is allowed back into the DA in a role senior and significant enough to clean up “the mess” (Zille’s words) the party is in.
In view of the dire straits the beloved country finds itself, we need Zille (and others like her) more than ever.
Sandy Johnston