The DA said that its Federal Executive had decided by an overwhelming majority to officially suspend former leader Helen Zille from party related activities until such time as her disciplinary hearing is concluded.
In a statement late Wednesday, the official opposition said thatZille’s “suspension is effective immediately.”
“The Federal Executive agreed that Ms Zille’s social mediacommentary and public utterances in connection with colonialism breaks downpublic trust, stunts South Africa’s reconciliation imperative, and underminesour political project,” said the Chairperson of the DA’s Federal Executive,James Selfe.
“There is no question that Ms Zille's original tweets andsubsequent justifications have damaged our standing in the public mind,” hesaid.
“We live in a fragile democracy which means our publicrepresentatives must, at all times, be sensitive to the legitimate anger thatpeople still feel about our past and its legacy,” Selfe added.
He said as a former leader and as a member of the Federal Executive,Zille has a special duty of care to protect the party’s interests and promotethe party’s mission, which is to build a non-racial, inclusive democracy.
Selfe said that Zille’s statements on colonialism were atvariance with this.
He said this past Saturday, DA Leader Mmusi Maimaneproposed to the Federal Executive that Ms Zille be served with a notice ofsuspension, whereby she was afforded 72 hours to make representations as to whyshe should not be suspended.
“After consideration of Ms Zille’s representations, the FedExhas today taken an official decision to suspend her. The disciplinary hearingwill commence this Friday, 9 June 2017,” Selfe said.
He said Maimane had pursued every avenue to resolve this matter,including asking Zille to issue a full apology for her actions.
“In every effort he has made, Ms Zille has refused to take theappropriate action necessary to resolve this unfortunate and damaging matter.Her ongoing communication on this issue has continued to cause damage to theparty,” Selfe said.
Zille will however continue in her role as Premier of theWestern Cape.
Selfe said there is a separation between party and state, and this suspension does not affect her government role.
“This matter deals with her standing within the DA,” he said..
