DEMOCRATIC Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane on Tuesday moved to stamp out racism in his party, declaring that racists should not bother to vote for the DA as they were not welcome in the party.Months before this year’s municipal elections, the DA reversed the expulsion of MP Dianne Kohler Barnard, who shared a Facebook post that glorified apartheid president PW Botha’s regime. The post, with the DA’s subsequent bungling of her disciplinary hearing, preceded a racist rant by realtor Penny Sparrow, who was also a DA member.While the DA acted swiftly to bring criminal charges against Ms Sparrow, the repeated association of its members with racist views could undo its efforts to become more inclusive — and to make headway in what are set to be fiercely contested council polls.Mr Maimane announced at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg that the DA would introduce an "antiracism pledge", binding existing and new members, adding that "there is no place in the DA for people who believe t...
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