Mbali Ntuli on mission to change DA's trajectory, as she launches bid for leadership
7 February 2020
On a mission to transform the Democratic Alliance (DA) through kindness, strength and fairness, Mbali Ntuli says the party stopped being fair when it started using internal disciplinary processes "to stop people from being able to speak frankly on what is happening".
Ntuli, a former DA youth leader and current MPL in KwaZulu-Natal, said this happened because of disunity in the party.
"This only happened because we couldn't come together to agree on certain issues, and so we were tearing each other apart," Ntuli said on Friday.
She was speaking at the launch of her candidacy to be DA leader when the party goes to its federal congress in May.
With the slogan "Kind, Strong, Fair", Ntuli said she aimed to transform the party in doing just that.
"I'm running because we need a politics in this country that is different. I want to make the party kind, strong and fair."
She said she believed the party was facing "major issues" and, in a letter to public representatives and activists of the party, Ntuli said she "did not think the trajectory of current leadership has the ability to arrest the situation".
While the leadership was focused on gaining stability in the party, Ntuli said now was the time to embrace the opportunity to get more votes and invigorate the party.
"I'm running because I believe, if we can show South Africans the people who really make up the DA, they would see the DA I see. A DA of people doing their best to serve in a political climate that tries to crush their efforts at every turn."
Should she be elected, her focus would be on bringing fairness back to the DA, clearing up any confusion about who the DA is and what it stands for, restoring confidence in the DA and returning the focus of the party to re-aligning politics in South Africa.
"For the DA to grow and move forward and win elections, it needs a leader who is able to bring people together from different backgrounds to build a South Africa that works," Ntuli said.
"Our country is in an economic crisis. We have record high unemployment, inequality is at its worst level ever. There are millions of South Africans for whom democracy has meant the ability to vote, but not the ability to build a better life… That is why I am running for DA leader."
Ntuli is expected to go up against current interim leader John Steenhuisen for the position.
Daily Maverick reported this week that Western Cape leader Bonginkosi Madikizela could also be a front runner, but had not yet made a final decision. Gauteng leader John Moodey also confirmed to the publication that he would run.
