DA’s MPL the youngest in SA
A DA member of provincial legislature, 22-year-old Katlego Suzan Phala, is the youngest member of any provincial legislature (MPL) nationwide.
POLOKWANE – A DA member of provincial legislature, 22-year-old Katlego Suzan Phala, is the youngest member of any provincial legislature (MPL) nationwide.
Suzan, who hails from Mankweng, matriculated from Mountain View High School in 2010 and is currently studying public relations management through Unisa.
She joined the DA two years ago and opened a DA branch in the township of Mankweng.
She says it was not easy to open the branch as some people thought the DA was for white members only.
“Some people accused me of being a ‘coconut. I was raised by a single mother and when I joined the DA, she asked me if I would be prepared to represent the DA, and stand by them throughout any challenge,” she says.
“One challenge was that some people discouraged others to join the DA, saying that the DA would bring the Apartheid system back,” she says.
“I’m proud to be a member of the DA and the youngest MPL in the legislature. The DA is not going to the legislature to fight with the ruling party. Our job will be to work hard and monitor the promises made by the ruling party during their campaigns.
“People still need jobs, clean water, electricity, sanitation and proper roads. Our manifesto clearly outlined that we would create jobs,” Suzan further says.
Her mother, Violet, says she is happy that her daughter has achieved what she set out to do. She says she is also a member of the DA in Mankweng.
“In the beginning, people used to make a noise about her political affiliation, but she endured the hardships. One day I met with a member of the ANC and he told me to stop interacting with white people. He promised me a ‘nice ANC T-shirt’, but I refused,” Violet says.
She adds that joining the DA was not a mistake and that she understands its manifesto. “I was a member of the ANC and voted for Nelson Mandela in 1994, but three weeks ago, I voted for the DA,” she says.
DA Limpopo leader, Jacques Smalle, says Suzan was a strong DA member who knew the party and its manifesto well.
“We trust that she is going to work hard in order for the people of Limpopo to get service delivery.
“We have no uncertainty about our members and we are optimistic that they will keep the ruling party on its toes in ensuring that services delivery is being accelerated across the province,” said Smalle.
Together with Smalle, Suzan will also be working as an MPL with the DA’s Langa Bodlani. He holds a BA degree in law and political studies from Wits. He worked as a researcher in Cape Town before relocating to Limpopo where he served as the party’s provincial spokesperson. During the recent national elections, Bodlani was endorsed as the DA’s premier candidate for the province. Smalle’s first public office was that of a councillor in Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape in 2000.
He later relocated to Limpopo and became an executive committee member of the Makhado Municipality. He was voted into the provincial legislature in 2009 where he became the caucus leader. A year later, Smalle took up his seat in the national assembly; serving as the shadow deputy minister of trade and industry. He is also the DA’s provincial leader.
