The fact is black people trust white professionals as opposed to black professionals – this has nothing to do with merit, but with mindset.
For instance, our political leaders prefer to use white lawyers over blacks. And these are the very people who are supposed to be promoting black empowerment or advancement.
But I digress. The official opposition party DA has a black man, Mmusi Maimane as its leader. The DA believes a black leader will help the party win the hearts and minds of the majority of people of this country. The party is struggling to make considerable inroads to this section of the community.
The pertinent question is: do black people believe that Maimane is a good enough leader for them to trust him with their votes? Has the official opposition made the right and strategic move by electing him as a leader?
Only time will tell.
Maimane is missing in action. You see him here and there. He seems to prefer to communicate his political messages through newspaper opinion articles. Is that effective enough? Not everyone read newspapers. I wonder who his advisors are.
The EFF leader Julius Malema has stolen the official opposition leader’s show. In parliament Malema has made his presence known. You even would think he is the official opposition leader. Juju is also visible. Not long ago, he led a big march to the chamber of mines and JSE.
The official opposition leader is yet to stamp his authority (will he ever?) within the DA. Hence he’s seen as a token. Look at how he’s handled the Dianne Kohler saga. Apparently he was against Kohler being dismissed from the party, but failed to influence the DC outcome in his favour.
I think Maimane was rushed into the leadership position by the DA. He was not ready yet to take the reigns, though he thought otherwise. Now he is failing to provide leadership to the party. This will have a ripple effect for the political party in future. Mark my words.
