Cape Town - The sudden removal of DA stalwart Theuns Botha as Western Cape Health MEC has infuriated the so-called Afrikaner faction in the DA with even opposition parties declaring it an onslaught on Afrikaners.
Ending the year with a bang, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille announced she was reshuffling her cabinet on New Year’s Eve, mere months after announcing her A-team following the May general elections.
Botha, who has been Health MEC for just over five years, will swop with cultural affairs and sport, while Nomafrench Mbombo, newcomer to the DA’s political arena, will head up one of the biggest portfolios in the province.
Several senior DA members in the legislature and across the province, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed the move was yet another attempt by the liberals to get rid of the party faithful linked to the old Nats.
Describing the move as a mistake, senior party members said there was no reason to remove Botha from the health portfolio.
“He had the vision to start the public-private partnership projects of the department of health. This might not happen under Mbombo who was just finding her feet in sport and cultural affairs.
Others questioned what Zille’s real motive was for messing with a winning formula, with many saying the pair had not been seeing eye to eye on several matters.
“Most of us only heard about the move on New Year’s Eve. It was a complete shocker,” a senior member in the City of Cape Town said.
But insiders in the legislature said Botha and Mbombo had been aware of the swop ahead of time, although they did not want to speculate on claims that Botha was upset about the move.
But highly placed sources said the party’s claim that it was not a demotion for Botha and instead a vital move to straighten out the province’s mass participation and development (MOD) centres, was nothing but a lie.
“Even before the recess there was talk about a reshuffle, but nobody really knew. This demotion is not only an insult but a slap in the face for Botha, who has been the driving force behind the party in the province for several years,” another insider said.
DA members in the Cape Metro were in agreement that the “daggers have been out” for the old Nats, adding that it was only a matter of time when liberals completely took over the party.
While sources in the provincial legislature said the portfolio swop was nothing more than an attempt to frustrate Botha into hanging up his gloves permanently, other supporters said it was a done deal that the liberals had wanted to wish away the fact that the NNP and DP merger was the foundation the current DA constituency was based on.
Some felt that Botha – who gave up the provincial leadership of the party to current leader Ivan Meyer for the greater good – was being victimised for speaking up and locking horns with Zille.
“The relationship has been turbulent as of late, but one thing is for sure – the health department is in a far better state under the leadership of Botha than it’s ever been,” one party loyalist said.
Another source said it was rumoured that Botha may have been offered the leadership of the province once again, but this could not be confirmed.
According to DA members the divisions in the party have become very clear in recent times, starting with the DA list process, during which Afrikaners were dropped from the candidate lists.
Some of the Twitter comments included: “In Zuma-like fashion, without public explanation, Helen Zille has just shuffled Theuns Botha out of health and onto sport in the WC cabinet.”; “Sport”, the lowest step on the ladder? Then @ivan2meyer should be next to the ladder.”
But Mbombo told the Cape Argus she was up for the challenge the health portfolio presents, although she conceded that she would have big shoes to fill.
“MEC Botha has done so much in health. If you compare the Western Cape Health Department to the other provinces, we have done very well in terms of health.
Botha’s only response was that he was looking forward to the challenges his new portfolio presented.
Cape Argus