Zwakele Mncwango, who early in the week resigned as DA KZN Provincial Legislature chief whip and MPL, on Friday also resigned as DA member.

While the DA leadership initially wished him well, the attitude of the party top brass changed after Mncwango conducted a series of media interviews where he slammed the DA leadership.

DA KZN leader Francois Rodgers on Saturday said Mncwango, who recently returned to the country from a KZN Legislature overseas tour, should not have ‘wasted’ taxpayers’ money by joining the tour if he knew that he was in the process of resigning.

“The DA believes that Zwakele has been planning his departure to ActionSA for the last month. Therefore, we feel he needs to come clean with the public and his new party as to why he saw it fit to enjoy the perks of his office in the Legislature, at the pleasure of the DA, while planning his departure to his new political party.

“These perks included an overseas trip in the last month to Norway and Uganda which cost taxpayers roughly R150 000. Surely if he had such misgivings about the DA, he should have resigned from the party before he enjoyed this costly trip,” he said.

However, Mncwango on Sunday hit back – accusing Rodgers and the DA national leadership of lacking principles.

“Early last week when I indicated that I would remain a DA member, they didn’t raise the issue of the oversees trip. But now that I have resigned as a DA member, they are suddenly raising the overseas trip matter.

“It proves that I was correct when I cited the lack of principles within the DA leadership as one of the reasons which led to my departure,” he said.

On Rodgers’ claims that he was heading for ActionSA, Mncwango said the DA KZN leader’s claims were ‘mere speculation’.

“I’m a community leader, and those who have been following my career would correctly anticipate that different political parties would approach me now that I have left the DA.

“Yes, it’s true that I have been approached by a number of political parties. Like any other person who finds themselves in a situation similar to mine, I will have to sit down and carefully consider my options,” he said.

Mncwango joins several high-profile black leaders, such as former DA leader Mmuisi Maimane, former DA youth leader Mbali Ntuli, former MP Phumzile van Damme, former DA KZN leader Sizwe Mchunu and former Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba, on the list of people who ditched the party.