Cape Town - Tertuis Simmers says there’s no bad blood between Bonginkosi Madikizela and himself following the DA Western Cape congress in which he won the party’s provincial leadership position by 549 votes.
Madikizela and Simmers went head-to-head for the DA’s provincial leadership position in highly contested elections that were held in Century City at the weekend.
Madikizela received 35.5% of the votes, while Simmers got 64.5% of support from the 851 delegates.
Simmers said Madikizela would now have to follow the new leadership, adding that there was no bad blood between them.
“I’m his leader. He will now have to follow the leader. That is how it works.
“The DA is not like any other party that just kicks you out. What will happen now is that the leadership has been elected, which I lead, and he (Madikizela) is an activist. He will now become part of our team of activists who will go to the ground and work among our people.
“There’s no bad blood, but there’s discipline, and discipline is to follow your leader,” said Simmers.
He said the focus of the DA was to take over the government in the 2024 elections and to retain the Western Cape province.
“It is not an overstatement to say that 2024 will see us in a fight for our very lives and for the lives of all who live in the Western Cape and South Africa. By semigration numbers alone, who stands alone? The Western Cape is the shining city on the hill. We are the shining city on the hill,” said Simmers.
“We are fighting a monster which has devoured our country for the last 30 years. We are fighting corruption. We are fighting lies. We are fighting deception. We are fighting incompetence. We are fighting prejudice. We are fighting desperation.”
Madikizela said the delegates had expressed their wishes and that he respected that decision. “We now all rally behind the elected leadership and work hard for a decisive DA victory in 2024.”
Among those elected with Simmers were Geordin Hill-Lewis, who was elected uncontested as the provincial deputy leader, and Jaco Londt, also uncontested as the provincial chairperson. The three deputy chairpersons are Anroux Marais, Carl Pophaim and Zimkhitha Silelu.
Grant Twigg, the City of Cape Town’s mayoral committee member for urban waste management, was among those elected as additional members.