The deal between the DA and Agang SA’s Mamphela Ramphele – in which Ramphele had accepted the DA’s invitation to stand as its Presidential Candidate – is over less than a week after it was announced. In a press statement released tonight, Helen Zille – leader of the Democratic Alliance – said Ramphele’s reneging on their […]
The deal between the DA and Agang SA’s Mamphela Ramphele – in which Ramphele had accepted the DA’s invitation to stand as its Presidential Candidate – is over less than a week after it was announced.
“Dr Ramphele has been playing a game of cat and mouse – telling the media one thing, Agang supporters another thing, and the DA another. It is not clear what her objective is, but whatever it is, it is not in the interests of the South African people,” said Zille. Picture: da.org.za
In a press statement released tonight, Helen Zille – leader of the Democratic Alliance – said Ramphele’s reneging on their agreement is “a sad day for democracy”.
The ANC will surely be heaving a sigh of relief at the demise of this deal which had threatened to at least rattle their stronghold.
Writing on the Wall – Ramphele’s Letter to her Supporters
The signs were there that this agreeement, which was announced last Tuesday, could crumble when two days ago Ramphele published the following letter to her supporters:
“This is not true. Nor did I agree to any such statement.” – Ramphele. Picture: agangsa.org.za
Dear Citizens,
You may have by now seen “joint” statements issued by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in which it is claimed that I will be accepting DA membership on Monday.
This is not true. Nor did I agree to any such statement.
It is Agang SA’s position that the technical committee must first complete its work.
I am leader of Agang SA, and Agang SA will continue its work to restore the promise of our freedom. We will continue to campaign for a better South Africa.
The commitments I made to Agang SA members of Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free State, Kwazulu Natal, Limpopo and this morning the members of the Western Cape, stand. And I will continue to speak with all of our structures.
I remain committed to working with citizens across the country as we continue our work.
– Mamphela Ramphele
Zille’s Press Statement
Zille said in her press statement tonight that the DA leadership met with Dr Ramphele yesterday (Sunday 02 February) to finalise the terms of the publicised agreement in which Ramphele would stand as Presidential Candidate.
“At the meeting, Dr Ramphele reneged on the agreement that she stand as the DA’s Presidential Candidate, and that Agang SA’s branches, members and volunteers be incorporated into the DA,” said Zille. “This about-turn will come as a disappointment to the many South Africans who were inspired by what could have been a historic partnership.”
She explained that “it is rare indeed for a political party to offer the position of presidential candidate to a leader from another party, but we believed this move would be in the best interests of South Africa. People are looking for a strong and united alternative to Jacob Zuma’s ANC, and we felt that Dr Ramphele would help us speed up the realignment of politics. Constitutionally, she could only go to Parliament as the DA’s Presidential Candidate if she is a member of the DA.
“The DA negotiated with Dr Ramphele in good faith. Indeed she is a long-time personal friend of mine and I sought to bring her into politics over many years. We have been through many false starts, but when Dr Ramphele insisted on Monday that we go public on Tuesday to announce her acceptance of our offer of the DA’s presidential candidacy, we accepted that she had finally made up her mind.”
It looks unlikely that the two women will ever kiss (again) and make up.
Zille said: “By going back on the deal, again, just five days after it was announced, Dr Ramphele has demonstrated – once and for all – that she cannot be trusted to see any project through to its conclusion. This is a great pity.
“Since Tuesday’s announcement, Dr Ramphele has been playing a game of cat and mouse – telling the media one thing, Agang supporters another thing, and the DA another. It is not clear what her objective is, but whatever it is, it is not in the interests of the South African people.
“The DA will nevertheless continue with its historic mission to build a non-racial political alternative in South Africa. We have the values, we have the structures, we have the machinery and we have the depth of leadership to succeed.”
AgangYoungBlood Tweets
Ramphele has not issued a statement yet, but the AgangYoungBlood Twitter account has been busy in the past few hours responding to criticism from individuals and the media, with messages like the below. AgangSA re-tweeted many of the messages:
“Stop saying ‘renege’ @helenzille. @MamphelaR is just making it clear that @AgangSA isn’t for sale.”
“Everyone so willing to bash on @MamphelaR & @AgangSA but not asking why the DA didn’t want to use its own leadership.”
“But @helenzille trusted Ramphele more than her own people for Presidential Candidate. What does that say about DA leadership?!”
“How desperate do you have to be to use a non-member as your prez candidate?”
“Everyone says that @AgangSA doesn’t matter but @MamphelaR is all the DA is talking about these days!”
“No such thing as a ‘ruling’ party. Democracies have governing parties. The ANC is not a kingdom & Zuma is not our chief!”
“There are a lot of questions worth asking though – and sometimes the answers make it obvious the blame is on the other side.”
“The media is bashing, the DA is bashing. And they are not telling the whole truth!”
“The DA no longer wants the agreed-to shared DA-Agang committee so we continue on our own!”
Many Twitter followers wrote with similar sentiments to this tweet:
“@AgangYoungBlood @AgangSA u r 2 small too late 2014 by self & not so different to#DA your cooperation could’ve saved#SouthAfrica from#anc”
For many who wanted a strong opposition to the ANC, their hopes have been dashed.
