DA KZN spokesperson on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Mbali Ntuli, briefs media her on candidacy in the upcoming DA leadership election in Rosebank, Johannesburg, 7 February 2020, for the DA leadership position against John Steenhuisen, the current interim leader, Western Cape leader Bonginkosi Madikizela, and Gauteng leader John Moodey. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Phumzile Van Damme has penned a letter to Mbali Ntuli after supporting her at the party’s elective congress on Saturday, at which Ntuli is running for the party’s presidency against interim leader John Steenhuisen.
In the letter, Van Damme wrote: ” I was proud to give you my support today. Your offer of a kinder, fairer and stronger DA resonated with me deeply. I remember crying when you sent your first campaign letter, it captured so much about how I felt at the time, a time of despair.”
Van Damme said Ntuli’s commitment to the DA “has never been in question” and that Ntuli has “given almost half” of her life, 14 years, serving in the party.
“If you win, stand firm on the need for kindness. And fairness. We so often forget that voters don’t give us their support because of what you say but how you make them feel. Kindness, empathy, compassion matter deeply – EQ. Keep reaching for hearts. I know you won’t forget.
“If you are not successful, SA has shown so much love and support for you. Of course you cannot please everyone and that’s why it is important that those in our ranks with wide appeal and talent, in all our diversity, are recognized and cherished. You are one such person,” Van Damme wrote.
Van Damme said Ntuli’s campaign for the presidency of the party has inspired “young black women who daily face barriers of race, patriarchy, ‘the establishment’, who now know that one must never be afraid to take up their space”.
“Whichever way it goes, I am immeasurably proud of you. And in my heart what you have achieved goes beyond merely Congress. You brought about disruptive moment in SA politics, which will not live or die by the outcome of Congress, but bring about change.”
On Friday, DA youth leader Luyolo Mphithi shared a statement in which he expressed his endorsement of Ntuli for the leadership of the country’s main opposition party.
READ MORE: DA elective congress to be broadcast live
(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)
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