Durban — Zwakele Mncwango, who on Wednesday announced his resignation as the DA’s chief whip and a member of the KZN legislature, said he was taking some time to step back and reflect on his career.
Mncwango said he wanted to re-energise and be able to make decisions about his career.
“I need to do an introspection to see if I want to remain in politics or go to corporate. I need to be outside the legislature and think carefully about my next move,” he said.
He said in the next few days he would know what he wants to do.
DA party leader Francios Rodgers announced Mncwango’s resignation on Wednesday morning and said the party noted and welcomed Mncwango’s resignation as the chief whip and a member of the legislature.
Rodgers said: “The DA in KZN would like to thank Zwakele for his enormous contribution to the party as both the DA caucus leader in eThekwini and the provincial leader of the party in the province.”
Mncwango said there was a time where he could not defend his party in the legislature because of the decisions that it took.
“There comes a time when you have to step back when you feel like you are unable to represent your party. There were decisions that were taken by the party that I did not agree with, hence I was unable to defend the party in the legislature,” he said.
He said in due course he would talk about the decisions taken by the DA, that he was unable to defend at the legislature.
Mncwango described his relationship with his colleagues as one that had a lot of respect. He said he and the provincial leader of the DA Dean Macpherson had always worked well together despite their disagreements.
“I had a lot of disagreements with the DA KwaZulu-Natal chairperson but we’ve always worked well together and respected each other. Wishing him and Francois well. Both have worked hard in uniting the party at a provincial level,” said Mncwango.
He further emphasised that he was not leaving the DA but he had resigned from the legislature.
In 2021, Mncwango’s second term as DA leader came to an end on February 3 and he said he would not seek a third term because he believed that two terms were enough for a leader to make the difference they wanted to achieve.
He said there were other reasons that motivated him not to seek another term. One was that some leaders got too comfortable in their positions and ended up being “willing to kill” to stay in power. He pointed to leaders in Africa who desperately clung to power.
In May 2021, the DA in KZN announced the appointment of new leadership within the provincial legislature, with Rodgers taking up the role of caucus leader and Mncwango becoming chief whip.
Mncwango said he joined the DA in 2000 because it was the only party that resonated with him as it fought for individual rights. When he took over as leader of the party in KwaZulu-Natal, there were goals he wanted to achieve. Some were to tackle the stigma that the DA was a “white party” and to increase the party’s foothold in black and rural areas.
Daily News