The Federal Executive (Fedex) of the DA has decided to officially suspend Western Cape premier Helen Zille from party related activities until such time as her disciplinary hearing is concluded.
DA fedex chair James Selfe announced that the decision was taken by "overwhelming majority and that the suspension is effective immediately.
"The Fedex agreed that Ms Zille’s social media commentary and public utterances in connection with colonialism breaks down public trust‚ stunts South Africa’s reconciliation imperative‚ and undermines our political project‚" said Selfe.
"There is no question that Ms Zille's original tweets and subsequent justifications have damaged our standing in the public mind.
"We live in a fragile democracy which means our public representatives must‚ at all times‚ be sensitive to the legitimate anger that people still feel about our past and its legacy‚" he added.
DA fedex chair James Selfe announced that the decision was taken by "overwhelming majority and that the suspension is effective immediately.
DA has suspended me. They have agreed I can share my reasons why I should not have been suspended. Here they are: https://t.co/6h6MqdjrOL— Helen Zille (@helenzille) June 7, 2017
"The Fedex agreed that Ms Zille’s social media commentary and public utterances in connection with colonialism breaks down public trust‚ stunts South Africa’s reconciliation imperative‚ and undermines our political project‚" said Selfe.
"There is no question that Ms Zille's original tweets and subsequent justifications have damaged our standing in the public mind.
"We live in a fragile democracy which means our public representatives must‚ at all times‚ be sensitive to the legitimate anger that people still feel about our past and its legacy‚" he added.