LETTER: Departure of Mbali Ntuli a big blow to DA

I'm deeply saddened to see Mbali Ntuli leave her elected position in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature and resign from the DA, but I respect her decision and recognise that she can and will find a better fit for her public service commitments in the months and years ahead.

This is a serious blow to the DA, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, where the party still has committed and hard-working public representatives such as Francois Rodgers, Chris Pappas and Nicole Graham. I feel for them and the sense of abandonment they may feel today. I urge them to continue in the work they do and remain close to Mbali.

This is also another wake-up call to DA leader John Steenhuisen and the party he currently leads. It is no secret that I backed Ntuli over Steenhuisen in the DA federal leadership race. Not because I thought Mbali would win (I didn't) or that Steenhuisen was not up to the job (he is) but because I believed (and still do) that Ntuli's skill set and her lived experience made her the better candidate to take the DA forward and grow its base. I remain of that view.

But that is now water under the bridge. The DA remains the best hope for SA, but it has a mountain to climb, and Ntuli's departure has just made that even more difficult. Perhaps the tiny but vitally important bridgehead the party is building in uMngeni will show the way. I hope so.

I'm pleased that Mbali is not being lost to us in KwaZulu-Natal and in SA; I look forward to sharing her journey, if only from a distance. And I know that we will remain friends. I wish her only the best.

Mark Lowe
Durban

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