Cape Town - The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has said it is not phased by the DA recruiting its members.
The DA in Witzenberg announced that it welcomed three more prominent members of the PA earlier this month. The previous month, PA councillor Christo Boks and the leader of the PA in Matzikama, Brenden Owies left the party for the DA.
“We are not phased,” said national chairperson Marlon Daniels.
“The so-called prominent members are unknown to us. The DA is announcing ghost PA members that have joined them. We are busy here fixing the mess left by the DA, especially in the Karoo and we will not be disturbed,” he said.
Daniels said that Boks’ departure did not come as a surprise, as they had long thought he was not a real PA member.
“We made him work in the office of the mayor so that we can monitor him and we actually trapped him because we suspected that he was not ours.
“The PA is the fastest-growing party and we are working hard where we govern. The DA is threatened and will try every trick in the book to distract us. Ten may leave the PA but a thousand more will join. The media will be coming to the Karoo next month to witness what our president has managed to achieve in the first 100 days in office,” he said.
The PA tried to remove the DA from power in Knysna when it brought four motions of no confidence against the executive. All the motions were unsuccessful after the EFF decided to abstain from voting, leaving the DA speaker with the deciding vote.
The PA and DA have been at loggerheads following allegations that DA provincial leader Tertius Simmers had described the party’s president Gayton McKenzie’s appointment as mayor of the Central Karoo District Municipality as political thuggery.
Simmers has denied that they were recruiting PA members with the hope to destabilise the party.
“People join the DA because the DA is the champion service delivery party, all matrixes prove this every year.
“The DA is attractive to members of other parties who realise that their parties cannot compete with sustainable DA service delivery. All who are serious about service delivery will naturally drift to the DA,” he said.
Simmers added that the DA governs well and best.
“Where we govern in coalition, we do so to ensure stable, accountable and a sustainable level of service delivery. The DA does not need anybody to open back doors to the government. The DA enters by the front door of good governance,” he said.
Next month there will be a by-election in Matzikama following the resignation of Boks from the PA to the DA. Although Simmers did not say, it is expected that he will be fielded as their candidate, as he enjoys support in the ward.
The PA said they will announce their candidate later this month.