Why the DA is no different to the ANC

THE fallout between DA leader John Steenhuisen and his colleague Dion George serves as a warning of what South Africans can expect in the event that the party is in control of this country. 

Not that this will happen anytime soon, but the factional divisions within the DA are indicative of a party that is fast sliding on the path of the ANC. 

Steenhuisen is said to be central in having George removed as forestry, fisheries and environment minister while on the other hand George apparently blocked the party credit cards in Steenhuisen’s possession.

At the centre of it all are allegations that Steenhuisen is eliminating his political foes ahead of the crucial elective conference next year where he hopes to be elected party leader for another term. 

This saga resembles a similar picture in the ANC. One is justified to expect that the DA would be in a better position to resolve internal power struggles before they reach a boiling point, having watched the ANC's demise over the years. 

Clearly it has not and things can only get worse from here.  Whatever the outcome of the party's investigation into alleged violations of its constitution and rules in the genesis and progression of this dispute, there will be those that will remain aggrieved.

That only serves to entrench factionalism and that could be the beginning of the end.   

The party’s decision to bar  the two leaders from engaging publicly on this matter demonstrates the seriousness of the issue. What makes this saga more intriguing, though, is the fact that the DA has always paraded itself as a party whose house is in order.

The Steenhuisen-George saga completely dispels that narrative, revealing a party that is not entirely different from the ANC. That is why ordinary South Africans  on the streets must be wondering what would happen if the DA is in full control of state resources. 

If the events of the last couple of days are anything to go by, then the DA has not readied itself for political differences that come with being in power. No wonder the only time it gets close to the national government is through the back door.  

CAPE TIMES