Fate of DA’s Madikizela rests on probe into his qualifications, says Zille

DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille says the outcome of the party’s investigation of Western Cape leader Bonginkosi Madikizela’s qualifications would determine whether he could continue to stand as a candidate for the next mayor of Cape Town.

Zille announced on Wednesday the DA’s federal legal commission was investigating allegations that Madikizela, who’s also the MEC for transport and public works in the Western Cape, lied about his qualifications on his CV.

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This is after Daily Maverick reported on Tuesday that Madikizela does not hold a BCom degree in human resource management from Unisa, despite claiming this in his official biography on the Western Cape government website.

The DA leader told the publication on Monday he obtained his BCom in 1999 and later an IT diploma from the National Institute of Information Technology.

However, Madikizela later made an about-turn and told Daily Maverick he did not complete his BCom qualification as stated.

Speaking to The Citizen, Zille said the federal legal commission was investigating and once the investigation is concluded, its outcome would determine Madikizela’s candidacy for the Cape Town mayoral post.

“I’m hoping that it will be done within a week,” Zille said.

The DA’s internal contest for the metro’s mayor is between the incumbent Dan Plato, Madikizela and DA MP Geordin Hill-Lewis.

On Monday, the party’s internal interviews for the top post were meant to begin but were postponed after a dispute arose over the selection of panel members.

DA spokesperson Siviwe Gwarube said the DA federal legal commission would adjudicate on the panel’s composition to ensure it conforms to the candidate nomination regulations.

A screenshot from the Western Cape government’s website.

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