Natasha Mazzone is the DA’s new chief whip

At a Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary caucus Natasha Mazzone was appointed the party’s new chief whip.

Mazzone will replace John Steenhuisen, who ended his term as whip when former DA leader Mmusi Maimane resigned, and was subsequently elected unopposed as the DA’s parliamentary leader.

“I am deeply humbled by the faith shown in me by the parliamentary leader and my party. I obviously step into massive shoes and look forward to the challenge,” Mazzone said.

“It has been a very difficult period for the DA and I have every intention to concentrate on steadying the ship and ensuring continued excellence in the DA parliamentary benches.

“Being an MP is the greatest honour of my life and being appointed the first female chief whip of the DA in parliament is a tremendous honour. I stand on the shoulders of giants and I dare not fail them.”

According to Steenhuisen, Mazzone’s appointment is part of the party’s attempts to “create some stability in parliament” following Maimane’s resignation, in a week which also saw Athol Trollip step down as the party’s federal chairperson and Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba announce that he will be resigning on November 27 and leaving the DA.

Mazzone is the right person to do this, Steenhuisen said.

“She helped write the rules of parliament, she is competent and knows what needs to be done and that’s going to help manage a smooth transition in this period.”

The party will appoint a new interim leader and interim federal chairperson on November 17, ahead of their next Federal Congress in April next year.

In the meanwhile, Steenhuisen is hoping for stability to return to the DA, at least in parliament.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen on the 17th and we don’t know what’s going to happen in April, so what I’m looking for here in parliament is stability so we don’t miss a beat in doing what we need to in holding the government accountable,” he said.

Steenhuisen announced that he will be running for the DA leadership on Tuesday.

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)

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