THE UDM remains the DA’s coalition preference in Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, but the latter would fight tooth and nail to prevent the UDM’s ousted mayor Mongameli Bobani from reclaiming the position.
This was revealed by DA interim leader John Steenhuisen in Durban yesterday.
During a press briefing, Steenhuisen also said the DA would never consider any ANC member to be a mayor of the municipality, which is without one after the ousting of Bobani in December.
Yesterday and today, Steenhuisen is visiting KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape to assess the state of service delivery in preparation to debate President Cyril Ramaphosa’s upcoming state of the nation address.
He said there was a difference between Bobani and the UDM and that his party had held several meetings with party leader Bantu Holomisa to discuss a mayoral candidate.
“I have had a meeting with Mr Holomisa and the leader of Cope as it is good for opposition party leaders to talk, particularly if you want to build a new majority in South Africa.
“But we have a problem with Bobani and Mr Holomisa has asked us to make a case for why we are opposed to Mr Bobani’s reappointment as mayor,” he said.
Reacting to Steenhuisen’s statement, Holomisa said his party would never be dictated by another opposition party on who to field as a mayoral candidate.
“If that is their stand they must go to other parties. They can go to the ANC and form that (coalition) government as we are not obliged to be told by them.
“They are the ones who approached us, so if they have preconditions then there is no need to continue talking to them and they must go next door and not waste our time,” he said.
Holomisa said the UDM would only entertain DA allegations against Bobani once the party had provided the UDM with documented evidence, which he said it had so far failed to provide.
Steenhuisen said the DA was compiling the case against Bobani as “it is the fair question for him (Holomisa) to ask so that we can put something compelling on
the table”.