ANC Gauteng ‘not surprised’ by John Moodey’s exit from DA

The African National Congress’ (ANC) Gauteng Caucus in the provincial legislature has reacted to John Moodey’s decision to leave the Democratic Alliance (DA), saying the move was confirmation that the opposition is incapable of transforming into a party that represents South Africans of all races.

“We are not surprised by the abandonment of the DA by Mr Moodey who has suddenly ‘realised that the DA doesn’t care about the majority of black South Africans’. The DA was never and will never be the home for all South Africans”, said the ANC’s Lesego Makhubela.

Moodey announced he was dumping the DA on Wednesday, 02 September 2020. He said he does not believe in the current leadership of the party, not the direction it was taking.

“We need to do what needs to be done now and I can’t and I can’t wait to resurrect a Democratic Alliance that is going off centre right quite frankly. That is not my cup of tea. I cannot defend the DA. I do not feel at home in the DA. I honestly don’t”, he said.

Moodey had led the party in Gauteng and was also in the running to become the leader of the DA, going up against John Steenhuisen and KwaZulu-Natal’s Mbali Ntuli.

He is the latest high-profile leader to leave the party. Other prominent members to part ways with the DA include former leader Mmusi Maimane and former Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba, who has since started his own party.

ANC: ‘More black and coloured members will resign’

Makhubela added that they expected to see many more black and coloured members of the DA resigning as the leadership of Helen Zille continues purging black people.

“Regrettably Mr Moodey abbetted the DA’s gerrymandering by his continued membership and leadership of a party that has consistently shown insensitivity to black South Africans on comments about race and colonialism by a leader of the DA”, the party also said.

“The centre right positioning of DA confirms that it is still a party of white privilege which was formed to defend the interests of whites who are still trapped in the old South Africa”

Moodey said he had only stayed in the party because of principles and believed he could strill contribute.

“But there comes a point. The purge is real. There comes a time when you say I am tired of being the gladiator,” he said.