Where are the DA's blacks when you need them?

The picture is the same across the country: whites for mayoral candidature where victory is probable; blacks for subordinate positions.

Posted by Madibeng Kgwete: 30 March 2011

According to the Democratic Alliance (DA), the upcoming local government elections, to be held on May 18, are about service delivery. Nothing else matters more.

But wait: something else does matters to me (and possibly to a large number of others).

Why does does it appear that a good “service delivery” record in Cape Town is being used to justify (or excuse) the racist notion that blacks cannot run a government?

Where they stand a chance to win a municipality, the DA leadership is very consistent with their choices of mayoral candidates. They are non-blacks.

In Johannesburg, where it is almost certain that they will get a clobbering, Helen Zille’s party has found young Mmusi Maimane to run as their mayoral candidate.

In Cape Town, where victory is near-certain – thanks in part to the combination of a good track record, a weak opposition and, yes, the race factor – DA newcomer Patricia De Lille is leading the pack.

In the Midvaal in Gauteng, where the DA has been in office for more than 10 years and where victory is highly likely, current executive mayor Timothy Nast is running for re-election.

The picture is the same across the country: whites for mayoral candidature where victory is probable; blacks for subordinate positions.

Speaking at a media briefing On 28 March in Johannesburg, Zille came close to admitting that blacks are tokens in the DA.

She was quoted by a newspaper the following day saying: “Of course it is an enormous plus that [DA national spokesperson Lindiwe Mazibuko] is black. It is a huge advantage.”

One’s blackness is seen as an advantage in an election which, we are told, is not about race! Actions, ultimately, speak louder than words – and the posters speak louder too.

In Pretoria, where the DA has a white man as their mayoral candidate, huge DA billboards are already up. But guess whose face is there? Zille, Mazibuko and Cape Town mayoral candidate Patricia De Lille.

It won’t be to the DA’s advantage to put Brandon Topham’s face on the billboards and posters, especially in and around the city centre and in townships such as Mamelodi, Atteridgeville, Soshanguve, Mabopane and Hammanskraal.

Where are the bright black DA leaders that Zille talks about when victory is likely? It’s really hard not to conclude that blacks are set up to fail.

It’s even harder not to conclude that so-called good service delivery record in Cape Town is being used to condone the racist notion that blacks cannot run a government.