Maimane moves to 'block' Zille revival in province contest

DA leader Mmusi Maimane will oppose any plans to have Western Cape premier Helen Zille elected to the party's provincial leadership.

Three sources in the upper echelons of the DA this week told the Sunday Times that Maimane said he would publicly express his opposition to the idea of having Zille re-elected into the leadership structures of the Western Cape.

A group of senior Cape Town-based members of the DA have been courting Zille to contest the provincial chairmanship of the DA, according to well-placed sources.

The DA is scheduled to hold its provincial elective congress for the Western Cape in August.

Maimane declined to comment in detail on Friday.

"That's [a] decision for the Western Cape congress to make. I would not engage in the subject as it were, it will be the decision of the delegates," he said.

Zille confirmed that she had been asked to stand but she has decided not to enter the leadership contest.

It has also come to light that at the heart of the battle between Zille and Maimane is the direction the DA is headed under the incumbent.

• DA's fresh attempts to broker peace over Zille colonialism fallout Behind-the-scenes efforts are under way to broker a peace agreement between backers and opponents of Western Cape premier Helen Zille.

The rift between the two escalated after Maimane started a process that resulted in Zille being charged with bringing the party into disrepute for posting pro-colonialism tweets.

DA insiders said there were deeper political issues that had driven a wedge between the two.

Insiders said Maimane and Zille had been squabbling behind the scenes about the DA's political direction under Maimane.

At issue was Maimane's push to champion affirmative action and for mineworkers to own shares in mining companies.

"It's all about [those] sort of things, so when Zille hears Mmusi say 'When you don't acknowledge that I'm black, it means you don't see me', Zille hears an ANC attitude. She's insisting that the DA should not engage in racial rhetoric because that is the style of the ANC," a DA member sympathetic to Maimane told the Sunday Times.

Another Maimane supporter said: "The differences are more about [the] philosophy of the direction of the party. When she was party leader, she was able to strike a balance between the hopes of the black majority and the fears of the white minority. But now that she is no longer party leader, she has changed tune."

Asked about the "growing rift" between herself and Maimane, Zille said their relationship was "honest and straight-forward".

Zille also said the DA's political direction was not determined by individuals.

"The DA's direction is determined by constitutional structures. The leader gives direction to the debate, the position is openly discussed and decisions taken. Individuals in the DA often agree, and sometimes disagree. But once a decision is taken within the broad framework of our political philosophy, personal perspectives are irrelevant. Everyone, including myself, goes out and implements the decision with determination," she said.

"Since Mmusi joined the party, we have had many excellent, frank and open discussions on the DA's strategic options; we have often discussed concerns related to different options. That is how it should be in a political party," she added.

Zille also confirmed she did not fully support one of the co-operation agreements, which she did not name, that the DA had entered into in Tshwane, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay.

"When the issue of these partnership agreements was first raised, I supported going into two of them, and expressed doubts on one."

Asked if she thought the party was in danger of diluting its liberal values under Maimane, she said: "Many people have different views. Why should mine matter more than anyone else's? We are not a Stalinist party. So as long as people can freely express their views in meetings, which we do, the DA is not in danger of diluting its core values."

There is growing unhappiness in the DA about the delays in the disciplinary hearing against Zille.

Insiders said the party was unable to set a date for the hearing six weeks after Zille was charged because "she's employing delaying tactics based on technicalities".

A senior party member said: "Each time the federal legal commission proposes a date, she requests documents. They provide her with such, only for her to request further documentation."

Maimane confirmed that he has called an urgent meeting of the party's federal executive for Saturday to decide on how to proceed.

"I don't want to be seen as violating the legal processes, but we can't continue like this. That's why we're meeting with the [federal executive] to decide how to move forward," he said.

Zille said she would like the disciplinary to get under way as soon as possible.

"At the moment I am awaiting answers to questions for further particulars," she said.

mokonet@sundaytimes.co.za and joubertj@sundaytimes.co.za