DA leader speaks on his departure

OUTGOING DA Member of KwaZuluNatal Legislature (MPL) and former KZN party leader Zwakele Mncwango says he has been unhappy with the political decisions taken by his party at national level and this has prompted him to quit as the party’s MPL.

Mncwango, in an interview with The Mercury yesterday, did not rule out quitting the party altogether. Asked whether the next step would be to quit the DA, Mncwango said, “for now, anything is possible”.

He announced yesterday morning that he had resigned as an MPL and the resignation is effective from October 15.

His departure follows a string of resignations from the DA by prominent black leaders at provincial and national level.

One of its young and prominent leaders, Mbali Ntuli, quit a few months ago as an MPL and party member.

Mncwango said it would have been unethical of him to continue drawing a salary when he was not performing at his best, as his working conditions no longer allowed for him do his best work.

He said he was no longer happy with some of the policy decisions being taken at national level and had found himself unable to defend those positions.

He declined to elaborate on those policies.

“There will come a time when I will elaborate on the reasons, but for now I will be taking this time to reflect.

“I believe it is better to leave than to stay and collect a salary when you know that you are no more happy there, if you do that (stay) you are doing a disservice to yourself and to the (people that elected you),” said Mncwango.

“I could no longer defend some of the policy positions, and when you are no longer able to defend the decision in the sphere of the government to serve, you cannot continue there,” he said.

Mncwango said he is considering various options in his career path.

“There are certain options that I might consider for the future, such as whether to remain in politics or further my academic studies or even venture into the corporate world,” he said.

DA Provincial leader Francois Rodgers described Mncwango’s departure as a big loss.

“We welcome his decision to remain a member of the DA.

“The DA in KZN would like to thank Mncwango for his enormous contribution to the party as both the DA Caucus Leader in eThekwini and the Provincial Leader of the party in the province,” Rodgers said.

Political analyst Thabani Khumalo said he was not surprised by the departure, while a political party expressed its concern about the continued exodus of black leaders in the DA.

Khumalo said Mncwango’s departure is part of the DA repositioning itself and going back to its roots of being a party that protects the interests of the white people.

“People should not read anything into the fact that he resigned as a member of the legislature but not as a member of the party, his resignation as a member of the party is coming.

“Many black leaders like Mbali Ntuli have left the party after seeing that their space there has shrunk and others left after being pushed out of the party.

“The DA in its origins, it was formed as a party to protect white interests, its second phase was to make inroads to the minority groups, and after succeeding there it targeted the black middle class, but that failed as we saw, and the party suffered and decided to retreat back to its original mandate,” Khumalo said.

IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa said it was concerning to see many black leaders from the DA leaving the party.

“We hope the party will look closely at this and the message it is sending to the community out there.”

He welcomed Mncwango’s departure, saying they had worked well with him.

“We wish him success wherever he goes, we know that he is committed to the emancipation of the black people in this country.”