Steenhuisen and Ntuli are expected to contest for the DA’s leadership role at the party’s elective conference next month.
DA interim leader John Steenhuisen at the media briefing at Nkululeko House on 23 February 2020. Picture: Sethembiso Zulu/EWN
DURBAN – Democratic Alliance (DA) interim leader John Steenhuisen has denounced claims by the party’s KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) MPL Mbali Ntuli that dissenting voices are suppressed by leaders in the country’s second-largest political party.
Steenhuisen and Ntuli are expected to contest for the DA’s leadership role at the party’s elective conference next month.
As the battle heats up, Steenhuisen has accused Ntuli of being the one who has no tolerance for those who disagree with her.
Ntuli previously told Eyewitness News that current da leaders are too sensitive to criticism and do not encourage robust debates within the party.
But Steenhuisen said it is Ntuli who suppressed dissenting opinions.
“…And why her leadership with the DA Youth ended the way it ended. It’s not how I’ve ever run caucuses.”
He said one of his main priorities is to bring back voters the party lost during Mmusi Maimane’s tenure.
“I think it’s time for the DA to set out its own vision, own store and invite voters to engage us on those platforms and our own terms. And I think if we are able to do that, we will not only be able to win back support we have lost in the last elections but also, more importantly, win over the trust of people who have not voted for the DA in the previous elections.”
Steenhuisen said he wants the DA to be solution-oriented rather than being seen as just critical of the African National Congress.
_WATCH: DA imterim leader John Steenhuisen _
