DEMOCRATIC Alliance (DA) deputy federal chairman Makashule Gana will run for the chairmanship of the party after Wilmot James indicated that he is set to step down from the post at the party’s federal congress in May.
Mr Gana, 31, announced on Thursday that he will run for the post after he was approached by members of the party in recent weeks.
The outspoken leader on Thursday criticised those who were threatened by a political forum he organised among colleagues in Parliament, saying their approach was short-sighted.
He said those who viewed the move with suspicion had an agenda and were seeking to tarnish his name in the run-up to the May elective congress. It was reported in the Sunday Times that senior party leaders had viewed Mr Gana’s political forum with suspicion, fearing that it would divide the party.
The political forum he launched in Parliament is similar to a political school he has run in Johannesburg for the past three years, where party members discuss issues such as leadership.
"It is not about Mmusi (Maimane) or Helen (Zille), I am talking 10 years from now what kind of leaders do we need, how do we cultivate those leaders … we (the DA) talk about governing the country but to do this we need certain leaders," he said.
The discussions would look at the leadership styles of Pope Francis compared to that of Pope Benedict XVI, for instance, he says.
He will not be swayed from holding the sessions — one meeting in Parliament has taken place so far.
"Conversations have to happen in the DA, ideas must be tested … people need a role; I cannot afford to be bullied by people with an agenda."
Makashule Gana (right). Picture: MARTIN RHODES
DEMOCRATIC Alliance (DA) deputy federal chairman Makashule Gana will run for the chairmanship of the party after Wilmot James indicated that he is set to step down from the post at the party’s federal congress in May.
Mr Gana, 31, announced on Thursday that he will run for the post after he was approached by members of the party in recent weeks.
The outspoken leader on Thursday criticised those who were threatened by a political forum he organised among colleagues in Parliament, saying their approach was short-sighted.
He said those who viewed the move with suspicion had an agenda and were seeking to tarnish his name in the run-up to the May elective congress. It was reported in the Sunday Times that senior party leaders had viewed Mr Gana’s political forum with suspicion, fearing that it would divide the party.
The political forum he launched in Parliament is similar to a political school he has run in Johannesburg for the past three years, where party members discuss issues such as leadership.
"It is not about Mmusi (Maimane) or Helen (Zille), I am talking 10 years from now what kind of leaders do we need, how do we cultivate those leaders … we (the DA) talk about governing the country but to do this we need certain leaders," he said.
The discussions would look at the leadership styles of Pope Francis compared to that of Pope Benedict XVI, for instance, he says.
He will not be swayed from holding the sessions — one meeting in Parliament has taken place so far.
"Conversations have to happen in the DA, ideas must be tested … people need a role; I cannot afford to be bullied by people with an agenda."
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