Yet another DA councillor has jumped ship, also accusing the party of racism.
Ward 7 councillor in the Swartland Municipality in Malmesbury, Basil Stanley, has joined newly formed political party, the Alliance of Citizens for Change (ACC).
The ACC was formed by former speaker of the Western Cape legislature Masizole Mnqasela, who was ousted by the DA in November 2022 ahead of a motion of no confidence against him following misconduct allegations. These related to his subsistence, travel and entertainment allowance.
With 20 years experience as a councillor, Stanley said racism was the main reason he resigned from the DA.
“Poor people have no say in the DA because of racism, white people are always more preferred than any people of colour.
“The DA speaks about cadre deployment but they are number one on the list in doing so. After submitting my resignation last night I could sleep nice,” said Stanley.
The ACC said as a result of Stanley’s resignation, a by-election would be contested and the new political party would “field a strong candidate” to take over the ward.
“The ACC is going to win ward 7 and we will be able to give the people of Swartland an alternative and serve them social justice.
“The ACC has a duty to protect the vulnerable and stop this disease of people being treated differently based on their skin colour or social and material conditions. We are building a South Africa of all people regardless of their accident of birth or the colour of their skin,” said Mnqasela.
Stanley and the ACC’s comments were sent to DA constituency head in Swartland, Anton Bredell, who said: “The DA's campaign in ward 7 has already kicked off, and our aim is to retain the ward. We wish Basil well in his future endeavours.”
Political analyst Sanusha Naidu said there was no guarantee a new party would be different.
“This is not new, people that have left the DA have bemoaned the issue of discrimination and racism within the party.
“There either is a systemic issue that needs to be dealt with in the DA because many members have cited these concerns.
“The challenge is whether the DA sees this as a serious matter that they need to deal with. It's not just a DA issue but a political party issue across the spectrum,” she said.
Cape Times