Johannesburg - Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe has warned that former DA leader Mmusi Maimane and former Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba could deal a heavy blow to their political prospects if they finally resolve not to work together.
Maimane and Mashaba resigned from the DA late last year and have accused the official opposition of no longer representing the future of South Africa as it rejected policies of redress.
While there had been speculation that the two would work together to establish a new political party, they have since announced the formation of two organisations; a movement that would mobilise South Africans across political and ideological persuasions to discuss and deal with the country’s pressing problems by Maimane and a political party which will be established in June by Mashaba to contest elections next year.
Seepe said Maimane and Mashaba needed each other if they were to succeed in their next political project.
“It would have been good for them to work together because they have different strengths which would be impactful if combined. Maimane is very eloquent and when he was in the DA you could also see that he was gravitating towards the language of the people and emphasising that we have a past, like colonialism and apartheid, and that black people have fewer opportunities than white people.
“Mashaba, on the other hand, has been the most effective in terms of using the coalition government arrangement to ensure that there is (service) delivery and that the poor are not left behind. He emphasised that the people don’t eat ideology and he was pragmatic by working with the EFF to insource poor workers in the city. So if they work together, they would be very successful ,” Seepe said.
He said the two stood a good chance of securing a sizeable electoral backing from many DA supporters and undecided voters who sympathised with them, as well as ANC supporters who becoming disillusioned by the party’s decline and internal fights.
“There is a great possibility that they will get support because there are a number of people who want practical solutions to the problems that are facing the country. The DA and the ANC have not been convincing about having the solutions and they may be given the chance,” he said.