Seasoned opposition politician Khume Ramulifho has become the latest black leader to resign from the DA, and as a member of the Gauteng provincial legislature, to join political start-up Rise Mzansi.
Rise Mzansi national chief organiser Makashule Gana resigned as a member of the DA and Gauteng legislature in August 2022, citing a trust deficit between citizens and political parties.
Ramulifho, who joined the Democratic Party as a student in 1998 and the DA in 2000, said on Tuesday the decision to leave a party he had served in different roles was not an easy one.
“I have built relationships with so many patriotic South Africans over the past 25 years. Thus far I can proudly say that I have given my best in serving the people of this country. My commitment to improve the lives of our people and build a prosperous country remains unchanged,” he said.
He has served as DA Youth regional chair, Gauteng provincial youth leader, and federal youth leader. He also served as a councillor in the Joburg metro in 2006 before being elected to serve in the Gauteng legislature from 2009. He was the party’s MEC for education.
“Ultimately, there are many South Africans who want to see unity in purpose, and I strongly believe that Rise Mzansi is able to unite South Africans behind building the SA we all deserve, the kind of SA that the constitution says it is our right to have, and I will continue to fight for with the people of SA.”
He said the country, which is dogged by socioeconomic issues relating to service delivery, persistent load-shedding, low growth, high unemployment, decaying infrastructure, crime and corruption, had the potential to succeed.
“We need to instil a culture of accountability and taking responsibility. We need more people to be involved in decision-making.”
Ramulifho said he had observed diverse South Africans raising their hands in support of Rise Mzansi, formed in April 2023 and led by author and former Business Day editor Songezo Zibi.
“I believe that it is possible to build an inclusive political alternative that will take SA forward. I will be joining Rise Mzansi to ensure that we grow and build a winning team,” he said.
Speaking to Business Day, Ramulifho said the DA’s direction has changed and it was no longer an inclusive organisation that could win support across the country.
He also spoke out against inconsistencies in foreign policy, saying while the party had condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it had not done the same regarding Israel’s war against Hamas.
Ramulifho said the party previously had regional and provincial councils, where members and leaders exchanged ideas, planned, strategised and plotted the party’s future. “Those councils are dead, there are no opportunities to raise critical matters [at grassroots level within the party],” he said.
“The party is stagnant, it is not going to grow, it will regress because there are no ideas and no direction.”
DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga said: “We wish Ramulifho the best of luck in his next chapter, we acknowledge his resignation, we also acknowledge his contribution to the DA and to Gauteng in different spheres he served in.”
Rise Mzansi national chair Vuyiswa Ramokgopa said the party was happy to welcome Ramulifho, whom she described as a “talented and experienced political leader and public representative”.
Ramulifho joins Rise Mzansi “at a critical time as we continue to build the organisation in Gauteng, which is set to be one of the most contested battlegrounds in the upcoming election”.
Ramokgopa said Ramulifho had been involved in 10 election campaigns and would therefore assist Rise Mzansi’s national campaign team in its “ongoing efforts to ensure that we make a significant mark in Gauteng but specifically Soweto, where he has built strong relationships with a number of communities and organisations”.
Departures aplenty
The DA has lost several senior leaders who have accused the party of not prioritising transformation, among other things.
Former DA MP Patricia Kopane resigned in August 2022 after two decades, saying the party no longer served her political interests and that it had become a white party. She later joined ActionSA, which was founded by former Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba. Mashaba, who quit the DA in 2019, served only three years of his five-year term as DA mayor from 2016.
His resignation came after the election of Helen Zille as the DA’s new federal council chair. At the time he said Zille’s election was a victory for people who stood diametrically against his belief systems.
In March 2023, DA policy chief Gwen Ngwenya resigned a week before the official opposition party was due to hold its federal congress in Midrand, Johannesburg.
Ngwenya took to social media, saying she had accepted a role to lead Airbnb’s policy and legislative activities in the Middle East and Africa.
Other DA leaders who have left include former KwaZulu-Natal MPL Mbali Ntuli; former MP Phumzile van Damme; former party leaders Mmusi Maimane and Lindiwe Mazibuko; former Gauteng leader John Moodey, former Midvaal mayor Bongani Baloyi, who is now president of political start-up Xiluva; former Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille, who is now leader of the GOOD Party; and former Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Athol Trollip, who is now ActionSA’s Eastern Cape chair.
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