DA MP, Mzamo Billy, announced this week that he has accepted a nomination to be elected party's provincial leader at its coming provincial elective conference next month.
Image: Independent Media Archives
DA MP, Mzamo Billy, may not be as popular in the broader KwaZulu-Natal society as he is within the party, but he is determined that if he is elected the party’s new provincial leader, he will spread its support to where it has never been popular.
The 37-year-old leader from Pinetown outside Durban, posted on his Facebook page recently that he has accepted a nomination to contest the position, which is currently held by the Finance MEC Francois Rodgers.
Rodgers had indicated that he was unavailable to take the third term as the KZN leader of the party, which will hold its provincial elective conference on May 9.
Billy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Criminology, and an Honours degree in International Relations.
Taking the DA to the heart of the township and rural areas is Billy’s mission, but he is also determined to maintain its growth in its traditional constituencies.
On Facebook, he posted that his campaign for the DA leader position would focus on growing the party by expanding its support into new communities and making it a credible governing alternative.
“KwaZulu-Natal is entering a new political era defined by coalition governments and increased competition.
“The DA must rise to meet this moment,” he said.
As the outgoing provincial leader, Rodgers succeeded Zwakele Mncwango, who is now the ActionSA provincial leader.
Mncwango succeeded Sizwe Mchunu, who had since joined the ANC.
Billy said his nomination was the outcome of a long process of engaging DA members, who expressed what the party should look like going forward.
“We have to grow in Umlazi, Empangeni, Ntuzuma, and all of those places so that we can play a central role, especially in the rise of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party,” he said.
He believed DA should prepare itself to play a central role in coalition municipality governments that are going to emerge after the upcoming local government elections.
“We've got to be strong and be able to manage those complexities, but we also have to have stronger caucuses. We've got to unite the DA to make it strong.”
He would detail his plans for the DA during his campaign launch.
As an MP, Billy has been assigned by Premier Thami Ntuli to lead a provincial delegation in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), a job which he intends to continue doing.
He said KwaZulu-Natal has 10 delegates to the NCOP, led by Ntuli; however, due to his responsibilities in the province, Ntuli is not able to be in Parliament in Cape Town, “so he then appointed me as the leader of that delegation, which is made up of one DA, ANC, IFP, and MKP”.
He said that when he is elected DA leader, he will support and strengthen the party’s position in the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU).
Billy said that while he was at the high school level, he was apolitical, but because he was inspired by former DA leader Tony Leon’s speech in Durban, he became politically conscious and decided to make the DA his political home.
As a result, soon after joining, he participated in launching the DA Student Organisation at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Howard College in 2011.
“It was not an easy thing to do because at that time, it was not so much popular. One dared to recruit, grow the DA, and contest SRC elections, which made me lose a lot of good friends because you were called a sell-out.
“From there, I became a staff member working for the DA at the head office in Cape Town, and later got a position in the province as a researcher.”
He said he was also a provincial coordinator before becoming a councillor in the eThekwini Municipality, in which he was a deputy caucus leader.
He graduated to the national Parliament after the last general elections.
“People have taken note of the dedication that I have given to the DA and the experience that I have gained serving in the different spaces in the party and in public office.
“Where I have served, I have also shown to be a much uniting leader as I always fight for people, including the leaders of the party, to do the right things and to make decisions based on principle, and I am known to differ with people who want to cut corners and manipulate processes.”
He said he was committed to making sure that the DA is fair and principled.
In his admission that he may not be as popular in the broader society as he is in the DA and provincial politics, he said, there were many leaders, like uMngeni Municipality Mayor Chris Pappas, who were also not that much popular outside the DA.
“Very few people know that Pappas was a councillor in eThekwini and a staff member, and before that, he worked at the provincial office.
“Because of the good work in uMngeni, he became popular outside the party.
“Our party is good enough to give the support that I will require so that every South African in KwaZulu-Natal knows who Mzamo is, and it is not going to be by coincidence, but it is going to be based purely on the work that I will be doing with the entire collective leadership of the party in the province.”
During the interview, Billy still did not know whether there were other people nominated for the position.
“The nominations are still open and will be closed on April 20, but people are more than welcome to contest,” he said.
bongani.hans@inl.co.za