Faizel Patel, 2016-04-21
The son of struggle stalwarts Yusuf and Amina Cachalia says his mother would’ve understood the reason for him wanting to join the Democratic Alliance (DA).
Ghaleb Cachalia has accepted the DA’s nomination to run as Ekurhuleni mayor in this year’s local government elections set to take place on the 3rd of August.
The municipality is currently run by the ANC under Mayor Mondli Gungubele
Ghaleb says his mother Amina was fundamentally disillusioned by the African National Congress (ANC) and the shift in values that were once embedded in the ruling party prompted him to join the DA.
“She would’ve found it very difficult for historical reasons to make that break, but I can guarantee, because we dicussed it, she would’ve understood where I was coming from.”
Ghaleb says over a period of time he began to look at whether the ANC was reformable from within.
“I sadly came to the conclusion particularly when it was brought to a head with the constitutional issue over Jacob Zuma and Nkandla when the silence was deafening in the ANC bar one or two tiny voices.”
Asked why he didn’t join the Congress of the People (COPE) or the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), he says Cope is an interesting experiment and is doomed to failure, while the EFF is populist, filled with demagoguery and has an underbelly of racism.
While the DA has always been criticised on its stance on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Ghaleb says the party maitaintains a balanced position on the Middle East.
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