
Durban - Speaking publicly for the first time about his lack of post-matric qualification, the newly-elected of the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in parliament John Steenhuisen said you don’t need a degree to service people.
Steenhuisen, who is also running to succeed the recently resigned Mmusi Maimane as DA leader, said he has seen politicians with PhDs ripping off poor people.
Steenhuisen’s lack of post-matric qualifications first drew the public's attention in 2018, when the DA in KwaZulu-Natal proposed that the post of party's chief whip in parliament - a position he held until recently - should be held by someone who is in possession of at least a degree qualification.
His critics inferred that his lack of tertiary qualification was being ignored because he was a white male yet people like former President Jacob Zuma and former SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng were eventually hounded out of their jobs solely for their lack tertiary qualifications.
In a brief side interview with Independent Media on Tuesday after addressing a party rally in Msunduzi’s (Pietermaritzburg) Ward 33 where the party is fighting to retain the ward after a defection, Steenhuisen said even the crafters of the country’s constitution were alert enough not to put academic requirements in order for one to be a public office-bearer.