Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 03-06-2017
Former Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille says the decision by the party’s federal executive to suspend her does not comply with its constitution which requires her to be given time to make representations on the matter.
The DA announced today that it has decided to suspend Zille for her tweets on colonialism and that she refused to apologise for her comments.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane delivered feedback on the party’s two-day federal executive meeting in Johannesburg.
Maimane says South Africa is facing a number of crises including unemployment which has reached a 13-year high and a failing education system.
He says it has become evident he and Zille hold fundamentally different attitudes about the mission the DA needs to accomplish in 2019.
“Ms Zille’s social media commentary and public utterances in connection with colonialism undermine our reconciliation project. There is no question that Ms Zille’s original tweets and subsequent justifications have damaged our standing in the public mind.”
In March this year, Zille tweeted what she called the positives of colonialism which caused outcry including from members of her party.
Maimane says he asked Zille to apologise but she refused.
“As the Leader of the party, it is up to me to rebuild public trust. In this regard, I asked Ms Zille to tender an unreserved apology to both South Africa and the DA for the damage she has done. Unfortunately, she declined.”
Zille says there is contradiction in the letter she received from federal executive chair James Selfe and Maimane’s statement saying while she had until 6 June to provide reasons why she shouldn’t be suspended, Maimane’s statement indicates she has already been suspended.
She says Maimane’s statement also does not disclose all the reasons taken by the federal executive for her suspension and this would emerge over time.
Zille has also denied refusing to apologise for her colonialism tweets saying while she did say sorry, she agreed not plead guilty to charges of misconduct which she claims she never committed.
Zille will continue her duties as Western Cape Premier while suspended from the DA.
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