Sihle Mavuso
The national leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) Geordin Hill-Lewis said his party would not shield President Cyril Ramaphosa when the Phala Phala saga comes before parliament.
Hill-Lewis said any decision the party takes on the matter will be based on “facts” and after fully participating in the impeachment committee.
He was speaking in Durban on Saturday while opening the liberal party’s provincial congress, where Sithembiso Ngema was elected new provincial leader later in the day.
On Friday, the Constitutional Court set aside as unconstitutional the National Assembly’s December 2022 vote rejecting the Section 89 panel report into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala scandal, reviving a process that could send the matter to an impeachment committee.
The independent panel found that the information before it prima facie established that Ramaphosa may have committed a serious violation of the Constitution or the law, or serious misconduct. The ANC used its then-majority in Parliament to block the report from being referred for further inquiry.
“[W]e will stand up to principle, we are a party that is trying to bring integrity and honesty back to governments in South Africa. So, we will go to the committee, participate fully, and base it on the facts, and then determine how to vote.
“If the president has done any wrongdoing, we are not going to be any part of protecting wrongdoing; it will all depend on what happens in that committee,” Hill-Lewis told Inside Metros shortly after opening the congress.
He told delegates that the party had managed to participate in the province’s complicated Government of Provincial Unity while preserving its own identity and continuing to expose corruption from within the system.
“Where we govern in coalitions, we must be constructive, but never weak. Cooperative, but never captured. Practical, but never unprincipled. The provincial government of unity here in KwaZulu-Natal is an important test. It shows that the DA is prepared to step into difficult spaces, to take responsibility, and to contribute to stability and reform. But let us be clear: A coalition government must never mean the surrender of DA values.
“It must never mean becoming silent in the face of corruption. It must never mean protecting failure. It must never mean trading principle for position. We are in government to serve, not to be absorbed. We are in government to make things work, not to pretend that broken things are working,” he said.
Turning to the upcoming November local government elections, he said the battle would be won by ensuring that all eligible voters are registered to vote before voting day.
He then said the party should retain uMngeni local municipality — which it won in 2021 from the ANC — and push to snatch the critical port city of Durban and restore it to its former glory.
“We must retain and grow where we already govern. We must show that uMngeni is not an exception, but a beginning. uMngeni is proof that the DA can govern in KwaZulu-Natal and govern well. It is proof that voters here are ready to choose a different path. It is proof that where the DA is given a chance, we can bring competence, accountability and delivery. But we must not stop there. We must fight for Durban. We must fight for eThekwini with everything we have.
“Durban should be one of the great cities of Africa. It should be a city of growth, tourism, trade, port-led development, clean beaches, reliable services, safe communities, and pride. Durban does not need another empty promise. Durban needs to move forward.
“And the DA must be the party to do that. We must say clearly to the people of eThekwini that this city can work. Your beaches can be clean, taps can run reliably and your streets can be safe. KZN’s municipalities can serve you again,” he said.
INSIDE METROS
