Dirty war rages in the DA ahead of provincial conference – report

An alleged battle has been raging between DA deputy chief whip in parliament Mike Waters and the party’s provincial leader in Gauteng, John Moodey, and his supporters, reports The Star.

Waters is reportedly accused of trying to sway the Ekurhuleni DA caucus from supporting Moodey’s third term as party leader by using underhanded tactics. DA Gauteng, the biggest province in the party, is holding its provincial conference from tomorrow at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand.

Moodey will battle it out for the top position against Ghaleb Cachalia, who was previously the mayoral candidate for the city of Ekurhuleni and recently joined Parliament as an MP. It is said Waters was this week summoned to answer allegations that a fellow member received a bribe from the ANC.

Waters is also accused by sources of having pushed for Tanya Campbell to take over as Ekurhuleni caucus leader when Cachalia vacated his office. That position was eventually filled by former MP Phillip de Lange, who is reported as being sympathetic to Moodey.

Prior to the caucus leader election, Waters is said to have accused De Lange of receiving a bribe from the ANC to pay his debt to the DA. It is reported Waters accused De Lange of being “captured by the ANC”, and said it was possible the ANC had paid for his candidacy fee to qualify as caucus leader.

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