DA DOUBLE STANDARDS IN MNQASELA CASE

THE more things change, the more they stay the same in the DA, and no one knows that better than the unending list of senior black leaders who were either booted out or resigned from the party.

We know the DA is a party that does not take kindly to any kind of scrutiny, and we expect a few nasty words hurled at us over our assessment in how it handles pertinent issues.

However, its double standards are too glaring to ignore, especially for a party that has ambitions to one day govern this country.

Take, for example, the latest debacle involving Western Cape legislature speaker Masizole Mnqasela, whose membership the DA terminated this week. Apparently he lost his membership after the disparaging remarks he made about the party or decisions of its structures. This was in relation to him making it known that he won’t go down without a fight.

It’s an open secret the DA has been wanting him out since Mnqasela called for his deputy speaker, Beverley Schäfer, to be held accountable after a report found her guilty of fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

Instead of taking action against her, the DA went after Mnqasela and even asked the Hawks to probe him over alleged fraud and corruption relating to subsistence, travel and entertainment allowance claims he had made.

Compare the Mnqasela matter to how the DA has rallied behind fraud and money-laundering accused councillor Nora Grose. While Mnqasela was initially suspended, the DA-led City has defended Grose, even forking out nearly half a million rand of taxpayers’ money in legal fees. Grose is out on R10 000 bail after she was accused of misappropriating City funds.

This is the same DA that was not only outraged, but challenged the decision to fund some of Jacob Zuma’s court cases. We are not suggesting Mnqasela should not be taken to task if he has a case to answer. Far from it. The point is the DA cannot preach equality when some are more equal than others.

The sooner Mnqasela realises he is not the first or the last black leader the DA will get rid of when it wants to, the better. After all, some have even been labelled “experiments that went wrong”.

The likes of Patricia de Lille, Mmusi Maimane, Bonginkosi Madikizela et al. are best placed to advise him.