Solly Msimanga was elected the DA’s federal chairperson on Sunday and hopes to expand the party’s reach into rural areas in preparation of the 2029 elections.
Rosetta Msimango/News24
Solly Msimanga,the newly elected DA federal chairperson,aims to expand the party’s reach into rural areas ahead of the 2029 elections.Msimanga’s unexpected victory over Ivan Meyer followed a nationwide campaign to connect with delegates and promote his vision.He plans to address disillusionment within the party,especially among black leaders,and focus on empowering activists to grow the DA beyond urban strongholds.Newly elected DA federal chairperson,Solly Msimanga,wants the party to grow outside urban areas to rural areas if it stands any chance of becoming the biggest party in 2029.
Msimanga was the biggest shocker to emerge from the new DA federal leadership announced on Sunday. Until the final results were announced by presiding officers Warner Horn and Bridget Masango,it appeared that Ivan Meyer would be re-elected to the position – but this was not to be.
News24 reported this week that the race for the position of DA federal chairperson had been framed as a foregone conclusion,with party insiders predicting a decisive – and potentially bruising – defeat for Msimanga at the hands of Meyer.
Hours before the results were announced on Sunday,Msimanga told News24 that he was confident he had done everything in his power,and that it was up to the delegates to decide whether his message and vision resonated with them.
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Msimanga said he took his campaign across the country to every province,and the choice was now up to the delegates.
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Speaking to the media after being announced as the new federal chairperson,Msimanga said: “I am still overwhelmed.”
He spoke to the media after addressing DA staff members,thanking them for organising a successful congress.
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He told News24 that he felt “great” that the vision he had sold to the delegates was well received.
“So the work is cut out for us,the leader has given us marching orders and in earnest,the work now begins. We are going to go out on the campaign trail,win the minds and hearts of South Africans who want an alternative government to the one we have.
Msimanga added:
I am very excited about the work ahead. I am just a little bit tired right now. I need to catch a few hours of sleep before meeting with the leader,and we are going to be plotting a way forward.
He said his biggest mission is to shift the DA’s focus toward growth.
“I do not think we should solely focus on the metros … the DA is the biggest political party in the metros,but to be the biggest in South Africa,we need to grow just beyond the metros. We now need to make sure that we grow in the rural areas as well.
“This is something that I am going to make sure that I push for,and I am glad that we have a young and energetic leader who is really going to push us in that direction,” said Msimanga.
He said he was not “shy” about going to places where no one goes to get support. Msimanga said that when he was running to become mayor of the City of Tshwane,he understood that he was not going to become mayor only by getting support in the urban areas,and that is why he went out to the rural parts of Tshwane to win the hearts and minds of people from those areas.
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“This is what I want to do on a national level: I want to go all over. And this is why I am the only one who ran in this race that went to all the provinces,not only in the provinces,but also to areas that none of our leaders has gone to.
“We have been to Kuruman,we have been to Springbok,we have been to Ditsobotla and all of that. These are areas that I want to make sure we go more to,and we work hard in terms of building structures or reviving our structures to make sure that the DA is cemented there,” he said.
Msimanga said the other thing he wants to focus on,as he said during his campaign,is to understand why people,especially black leaders,leave the DA or are disillusioned with the party.
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“There are people who are feeling disillusioned for genuine reasons,and we are going to need to address that,” he said,adding that some people might have lost interest in the party because they feel that their ideas are not being listened to.
Solly Msimanga greets participants from the stage at the DA congress in Midrand.
Rosetta Msimango/News24
Msimanga said the new leadership collective has a duty to encourage party activists so they feel motivated and empowered to take the DA forward.
Asked whether he will stay on in the Gauteng legislature,Msimanga,who until Sunday afternoon was the DA Gauteng leader,said he will stay on in his role “until the leader decides otherwise”.
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