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MPHO Phalatse will face John Steenhuisen in the final round of a closely fought race to lead the Democratic Alliance at the weekend. Lungile Phenyane, who hails from Tshwane, crashed out of the three-way race after she apparently received the least support from party structures who were surprised by her nomination to lead the party.
Phalatse and Steenhuisen will now go head-to-head for the position of DA Leader at the Federal Congress.
The party will hold its federal congress at the Gallagher Estate in Midrand this weekend to elect a new leadership and make resolutions to help charter a way forward for the 2024 General Elections.
This is expected to be the party’s biggest congress yet, with more than 2 000 delegates expected to attend.
Ahead of the federal congress, Phalatse has claimed in various interviews that she has a strategy for growth to win the upcoming national elections for the DA.
Phalatse also believes that Steenhuisen has not been able to grow the party, especially among black South Africans.
In her campaign documents, Phalatse writes: “As the second largest political party and the official opposition, the DA is the only party that can legitimately call itself a government in waiting. We must therefore do everything possible to ready ourselves for governance in 2024, which is only a few months away. We must demonstrate in both word and deed that the DA activist is the central pillar of our strength as a party. We must build our structures, including our performance management, recruitment and selection processes, to build a strong DA that can save South Africans.”
Phalatse, who considers herself a liberal democrat, adds that the federal congress this weekend affords the DA an opportune moment to “stop our country from this trajectory of total collapse.”
“It gives us an opportunity to steer our country into a new path – a path of progress and development for our nation. We have an obligation to urgently emancipate the people of South Africa from the shackles of despair and political disillusionment, which are a result of almost 30 years of the ANC’s politics of greed and plunder. Yet, I believe there is still hope for South Africa. We need a new leadership that can re-kindle the flame of hope and brighten the future for our children and their children.”
Jaco Engelbrecht, a former councillor for the DA in the City of Johannesburg and a former advisor in the Office of the Executive Mayor, wrote this week that Phalatse was well-positioned to grow the DA ahead of next year’s general elections.
“She did not come to a decision as a result of some failed coalition negotiations to retain the City of Johannesburg, as her detractors would make us believe. She does not decide things on a whim. She thinks deeply before making a decision. She asks for advice and opinions. She consults with specialists and those she trusts,” said Engelbrecht.
“She observed the governance of areas like the Western Cape and understood there is a correlation between good policies and good governance. She was not dropped into the party with a parachute. She joined the party of her own volition, became a councillor, later a member of the mayoral committee, and rose to become a mayor and, most of all, a skilled and respected politician.”
Phalatse was elected the first female black mayor of Johannesburg in November 2021.
A medical doctor with significant experience in the health sector, she was drawn to politics while working in Johannesburg.
She holds a doctorate in medicine from the Sefako Makgatho Health Services University.
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