LETTER: Why Geordin Hill-Lewis should challenge John Steenhuisen for DA leadership
Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis must reconsider his stance that he does not intend contesting for the DA's leadership position, a post currently held by his friend John Steenhuisen, says the writer.
Image: DA
THE moment has arrived for the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, to make an unequivocal choice.
He must decide whether to protect a personal friendship or to safeguard his party and, by extension, the national interest. The upcoming DA leadership contest shouldn’t be a difficult choice to make for party members, it is between what is right and what is wrong.
Since assuming office, Mayor Hill-Lewis has consistently presented himself as a disciplined party loyalist, frequently extolling what South Africa could become if governed “the DA way.”
That refrain now demands substance. It requires a candid, mature conversation with his long-time associate, John Steenhuisen, and a clear acknowledgement that leadership is inseparable from personal probity.
The controversy surrounding the misuse of party credit facilities for private fast-food purchases is not trivial. It goes to the heart of judgment, restraint, and ethical fitness.
Resources entrusted for official duties were instead treated as personal entitlement, an error akin to leaving a child unsupervised in a confectionery store, save that the consequences here are political and profoundly public.
Leadership, like judicial office, demands the capacity to act without fear or favour, even when the subject is a close ally. One cannot credibly lead a political party if one is unwilling or unable to hold friends accountable.
This question carries particular weight given the Democratic Alliance’s position as the second-largest party in Parliament and a key partner in the Government of National Unity, with real influence over national budgeting and policy direction. The quality of its leadership therefore matters deeply to the country.
Mayor Hill-Lewis has previously indicated that he would not contest the DA’s leadership while Mr Steenhuisen remained a candidate.
Circumstances have now changed. His colleague has, by his own conduct, called his suitability into question. The mayor must therefore reconsider his stance. I have no doubt in my mind that John Steenhuisen is a wonderful man, but not when it comes to managing the country’s finances.
The choice before Geordin Hill-Lewis is stark: to preserve the integrity and future of the Democratic Alliance, or to shield a friend from the consequences of his actions. It is a decision that will define his political legacy, and one for which he will inevitably be judged.
Rozario Brown | MOUILLE POINT