The DA prides itself on being South Africa’s official opposition party, hell-bent on exposing corruption and presenting a transformed, unified front.
However, cracks in the party appear to be widening, showing signs of an organisation in disarray.
This week, DA MP Phumzile van Damme resigned from Parliament and as national spokesperson of the party.
“My resignation as an MP is not because the DA is a so-called ‘racist party’ but because of a clique of individuals – and in order not to make the good women and men still in the DA suffer, I will not delve further into this,” she said.
A few hours later, however, Van Damme made a U-turn on her resignation.
This begs the question why she would deem it necessary to make this statement in her public resignation letter.
Perhaps the real task for the DA is working towards changing the prevailing perception that it is a “racist party“?
Several senior DA members have either left the party or been removed in the recent past.
In 2019, Herman Mashaba left the party and resigned as Joburg mayor, citing ideological differences with the party's leaders.
This year, a qualifications scandal enveloped the party.
Bonginkosi Madikizela resigned as DA leader in the Western Cape and as transport and public works MEC after it emerged he had lied about having a BCom degree.
National chief whip Natasha Mazzone was embroiled in slanging matches with political opponents over her lack of qualifications.
Saldanha mayor Marius Koen is also accused of lying about his qualifications. DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille has referred the matter to the party’s federal legal commission for investigation.
Then there’s City of Cape Town mayoral committee member Xanthea Limberg, who claimed, on a summarised CV she submitted to the Provincial Executive Committee for her nomination as an executive member, to hold degrees from UCT and Unisa.
However, it appears she never completed the listed degrees and holds only certificates from CPUT and UCT.
Subsequently, DA leader John Steenhuisen called for the independent verification of every DA public representative's qualifications.
To add to the party’s woes, DA Cape councillor Nora Grose was charged with fraud and money laundering for allegedly using R170 000 in Ters funds meant for food parcels in Atlantis.
Only time will tell whether this will hurt the DA in the upcoming local government elections.
If ever there was a time for the DA to get its house in order, it’s now.
The Independent on Saturday