GEORGE NEWS & VIDEO - The two DA leadership candidates who are competing for the crown seat of the blue party, made a pit stop in George earlier this week.
Mmusi Maimane (34), DA leader in Parliament, and Wilmot James (61), DA MP and federal chairman, were in town on Monday morning to address 62 DA delegates from the East Region (Eden district, Central Karoo and Overberg) who will attend the DA congress in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
These delegates, together with about 1 400 more from across the country, will cast their votes for their new leader of choice at the congress on Sunday. Maimane and James left George on Monday afternoon for Johannesburg, where they delivered a live television debate on kykNET later that same evening. DA Regional Manager for the East Region Jaco Londt reasons that competition for posts is good for any democracy.
When asked about the recent e-mails that have been doing the rounds regarding an alleged sex ring within the DA - also implicating Maimane - both men vehemently stated that the e-mails are devoid of any truth. "It is malicious, vicious with no merit of truth," said Maimane. "We will get to the bottom of this and find out who started it - find out if it is someone within the DA." James said these allegations "greatly harmed the party and both our campaigns".
James said the DA has a very different approach from the ANC in making the economy grow. "We believe that a market based approach that requires a liberation on trade is a much better way of growing this economy," said James. "The National Development Plan is the ANC's plan. It's not our plan. The DA's plan is growth in jobs."
"Of course there will be a change (in strategic direction)," said Maimane. "Before, when people think about the DA they think about what angers them about what the ANC is doing and what the DA would do. Now its a function of saying, even if the ANC didn't exist, what does the DA stand for and where are we going.
Regarding minority groups, Maimane talks about the rights of minorities and inclusiveness. "Whether you are Portugese, whether you are white or Afrikaans, you are part of the vision of South Africa. Your rights are protected under the constitution, regardless of the size of the population."
Watch a video below now:
From left: George Mayor Charles Standers, DA MP and Federal Chairman Wilmot James, DA leader in Parliament Mmusi Maimane, and DA Regional Manager for the East Region Jaco Londt.
ARTICLE: MICHELLE PIENAAR, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
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