Left: Former City of Joburg mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse. Picture: Michel Bega Right: DA leader John Steenhuisen speaks to The Citizen at the DA offices in Bruma, Johannesburg, 26 January 2023. Picture: Neil McCartney / The Citizen
The race is now on for the federal leader position between incumbent DA leader John Steenhuisen and former Mayor of Joburg Mpho Phalatse.
It remains to be seen who will emerge victorious as the Democratic Alliance’s leader and who will lead the party into the 2024 national elections.
The two candidates delivered their federal leader speeches at the DA Federal Congress, taking place at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg on Saturday.
This was the opportunity for candidates to convince delegates to choose them to ultimately lead the DA for the next coming four years.
Loud cheers in the room were heard as Steenhuisen took center stage to deliver his speech and started off by informing delegates that the same province [Gauteng] where he is delivering his speech will be the next province governed by the DA.
Steenhuisen, has served as leader of the opposition party since 2020. His political career began around the age of 22, which made him one of the youngest council members at that time.
He served as an ordinary councillor until his appointment as the DA’s caucus leader in 2006.
In an effort to tell party members why they should keep him for the job, Steenhuisen said when he first joined the DA party back in 1997; he was under no illusions of the difficulties which lay ahead.
“We knew we had to cement our roles in the South African political landscape and we would have to put in hard work,” he said.
“Let me tell you now as a councillor for 10 years, I know a lot about hard work. Today I can confidently say that our three decades of hard work have also paid off.”
According to Steenhuisen, the time had come for the DA to ascend to national governance and provincial government, and the key to achieving such was through prioritising the citizens.
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“Only the politics of the long haul will bring results, and there will be no shortcuts,” he said. Steenhuisen said the party had been working hard together to rebuild the DA.
“We defied its critics and came out of the 2021 election stronger than before,” he said.
“Now we are on a track record result for 2024, to bring the ANC below 50% and rescue South Africa.”
“It is our mission; the DA must and will play a leading role.”
Steenhuisen further made seven pledges to delegates which included;
• Getting the ANC under 50% nationally.
• Focus on communicating issues which matter to voters .
• Ending loadshedding.
• Reducing unemployment below 20%.
• Defeating cadre deployment and building a capable state.
• Ending violent crime.
• Devolving more power to provincial and local government.
Receiving a round of applause and standing ovation, Steenhuisen ended his speech placing emphasis that the DA was fixed and “it is time to fix South Africa”.
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Steenhuisen’s only competitor for the top spot, Phalatse, also delivered her speech under the theme “It is Now or Never.”
Phalatse’s career started when she pursued medicine and qualified as a medical doctor in 2011.
She then joined the Democratic Alliance and was elected to the Johannesburg City Council in 2016 where she then became a member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Health and Social Development.
Phalatse then served in the position of Johannesburg mayor from 22 November 2021 until her ousting in a motion of no-confidence on 26 January 2023.
Presenting her speech in why she wants to be federal leader, Phalatse said she was ready to lead the DA and embark on a process of “introspection and repositioning from an opposition in parliament to a governing party in 2024”.
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“Some critics ask me, is it not too soon?” she said.
“I want to state categorically here without any fear of contradiction, it was not the length of time in a party that determines one’s effectiveness. It is not the number of years that counts. It is about capability, experience and qualifications.”
“Jacob Zuma was a horrible president, with all his years in the ANC. Yet Barack Obama, with much fewer years in his party, was one of the best presidents America ever had.”
Phalatse said politics was not a vocation but rather a calling.
“We need a leadership that can display moral integrity, which can lead by example and unite the party. We are a party that ascribes to liberal values. This means we must support and promote free speech, including the right to freedom of choice,” she said
Phalatse said as a leader, she would defend the rights of everyone in the party and would not lead by fear, because the best form of leadership was leadership by example.
“I will work closely with our activists and structures such as DA Youth, the DA Women’s Network and DA Students Organisation, as well as other ancillary bodies, empowering them to deliver on their mandate,” she said.
Results of the conference are expected to be announced on Sunday afternoon.
lungas@citizen.co.za
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