Understanding the DA’s battle with BEE
Just when it seemed the official opposition had put the De Lille saga behind it and was roaring towards next year’s elections, a battle over whether it believes in BEE has opened up
The DA should have sat back and enjoyed the ride after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the ANC supported amending the constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation.Without the DA having to lift a finger, voter turnout at next year’s election would have been high in its traditional support bases — because the ANC had touched what even Ramaphosa’s charm could not counter: property rights. For the middle class of all races, this is crucial.On top of this free electoral gift from the ANC, the DA seemed at last to reach a political solution to one of its biggest electoral drawbacks: the very public clash between its Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille and the top leadership structure.De Lille and DA leader Mmusi Maimane sat side by side in Cape Town on Sunday and announced that De Lille had resigned, effective October 31, and that all internal charges against her had been dropped. They declared that the decision was "in the interests of the people of Cape Town"...
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