The Eastern Cape’s new Democratic Alliance chairwoman says her election as the party’s first black senior leader will open more doors for the growth of the party in the province.
She won at a highly contested elective conference in Jeffrey’s Bay over the weekend.
Mvenya garnered 225 votes against seasoned DA leader Edmund van Vuuren’s 150.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday Mvenya said: “Now black people are going to relate to the DA because I’m black and from a rural area as well.
“This party has long been perceived as a party for white and coloured people. But the first strategy is going to be that of working with people on the ground,” said Mvenya.
The party’s provincial leader remains Athol Trollip, and his new deputies are Bobby Stevenson and Terrence Fritz.
The election had its controversies.
Mvenya revealed that not all provincial leaders approved of her contesting for the position as some wanted a candidate from Nelson Mandela Metro. The DA has publicly declared NMM its main target in the 2016 local government elections after winning the City of Cape Town from the ANC in 2011.
“The provincial leadership wanted someone coming from Port Elizabeth to ensure that we win NMM but ordinary people spoke against that and went for me – a rural woman from Ngqamakhwe. I was not by anyone,” she revealed yesterday.
“I just cannot explain how I feel right now. I’m humbled and I really appreciate the confidence shown by people from all races in me. I’m eternally grateful.”
The party said yesterday that the results were a true demonstration “of the diversity of our party and it reiterates the DA’s ‘equal opportunity society for all’ policy”.
Mvenya, who joined the DA in 2000, said her 14-year experience in the party had made her more grounded.
She said her priority would be to draw up a strategy to win NMM in 2016, and to increase the DA’s support in Buffalo City and other rural municipalities.
“The first strategy is going to be that of working with people on the ground and I’m known for that. I don’t like to be confined to offices,” Mvenya said. — msindisif@dispatch.co.za
Mvenya elected as DA chair
She won at a highly contested elective conference in Jeffrey’s Bay over the weekend.
Mvenya garnered 225 votes against seasoned DA leader Edmund van Vuuren’s 150.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday Mvenya said: “Now black people are going to relate to the DA because I’m black and from a rural area as well.
“This party has long been perceived as a party for white and coloured people. But the first strategy is going to be that of working with people on the ground,” said Mvenya.
The party’s provincial leader remains Athol Trollip, and his new deputies are Bobby Stevenson and Terrence Fritz.
The election had its controversies.
Mvenya revealed that not all provincial leaders approved of her contesting for the position as some wanted a candidate from Nelson Mandela Metro. The DA has publicly declared NMM its main target in the 2016 local government elections after winning the City of Cape Town from the ANC in 2011.
“The provincial leadership wanted someone coming from Port Elizabeth to ensure that we win NMM but ordinary people spoke against that and went for me – a rural woman from Ngqamakhwe. I was not by anyone,” she revealed yesterday.
“I just cannot explain how I feel right now. I’m humbled and I really appreciate the confidence shown by people from all races in me. I’m eternally grateful.”
The party said yesterday that the results were a true demonstration “of the diversity of our party and it reiterates the DA’s ‘equal opportunity society for all’ policy”.
Mvenya, who joined the DA in 2000, said her 14-year experience in the party had made her more grounded.
She said her priority would be to draw up a strategy to win NMM in 2016, and to increase the DA’s support in Buffalo City and other rural municipalities.
“The first strategy is going to be that of working with people on the ground and I’m known for that. I don’t like to be confined to offices,” Mvenya said. — msindisif@dispatch.co.za
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