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DA puts out race fires claims

DA puts out race fires claims

For a second Sunday in a row, the DA is on the back foot after some bad publicity, this time about some “too-white” top appointments. CARIEN DU PLESSIS reports.

The DA has defended itself against “allegations and insinuations” of nepotism and a too-white management team as reported in the Sunday Independent, saying it’s lost many of its black managers to politics.

It has also denied a “race row”, although an insider wryly remarked that, if there was no row leading up to the article, there might be one after. Questions are likely to be raised over the source of the story.

This is the second – albeit reluctant – rebuttal of a newspaper report in a week, a sure reminder to the DA of how harshly ruling parties can be judged in the media. DA leader and Western Cape Premier Helen Zille has this week been fighting corruption allegations in the awarding of a large communications tender to TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris by her office. While the Sunday Times sort of apologised for stating estimation figures as calculation figures (the paper estimated that the total marketing and communications budget for all the departments was R1 billion, while Zille said it’s closer to R70 million a year), and for saying the DA had not advertised the tender despite proof that it had, it still sought to vindicate itself by publishing large extracts from a provincial treasury report finding fault with the tender, opposite detailed responses by Zille and TBWA CEO Derek Bouwer.

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s office, kept busy of late by police generals, ministers and youth leaders, has also received a complaint on the matter, but said it was still too early to say whether the process warranted a complete investigation.

In a statement on Sunday the DA denied it’s team of executive directors was “all-white” as reported, and denied nepotism by its CEO Jonathan Moakes, whose wife was appointed executive director in an administrative team. DM



Photo: Reuters

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