DispatchLIVE apologises to Gavin Davis, former policy chief of the DA, for failing to offer him a right of reply to allegations made in article below titled "Veil of secrecy over DA policy chief resignation". Mr Davis rejects the allegations contained in the story as having no merit. We accept that our failure led to a one-sided account of the circumstances that led to his resignation. We apologise for the breach.
By Jan-Jan Joubert And Thabo Mokone
The DA has thrown a veil of secrecy over the resignation of its policy chief‚ Gavin Davis‚ who quit in the middle of party's policy formulation process ahead of the 2019 elections.
Davis quietly resigned last week as the party's head of policy and media‚ allegedly over differences of opinion with staff members over the formulation of policies and communication strategies for the official opposition party.
However‚ Davis would stay on as an ordinary DA member of parliament‚ and it was expected that he would be deployed to one of the portfolios within the party's shadow cabinet‚ in which he served previously as communications and basic education shadow ministers.
DA sources claimed this week that Davis grew frustrated with the current path of DA and was not receptive to new ideas on policy formulation and communications plans.
"Staff members disregarded his directions‚ and he became frustrated with the process‚" a DA source said.
"Some staff members felt he represented an earlier incarnation of the DA‚ and that he did not take kindly to new opinions‚" another source added.
Another party insider claimed that Davis‚ who was part of the Helen Zille inner circle during her tenure as party leader‚ was also disgruntled with the DA's policy direction under Mmusi Maimane's current leadership.
The DA is currently on the offensive to win over more black voters as it pulls out all the stops to topple the ANC in the upcoming national elections in 2019.
"Remember the guy is from the core liberal grouping in the party that was close to Zille‚ and such people are likely to sulk when they are not in the current inner circle. There were also some tensions in terms of the creative communication and policy direction of the party‚" said the insider.
Davis has flatly refused to discuss his reasons for stepping down‚ while Maimane has denied any falling out with him.
Other sources claimed that Davis did not see eye to eye with the party's recently appointed executive director of communications‚ Siviwe Gwarube.
But Gwarube said: "I am not aware of why Gavin has resigned as the policy and media consultant. There has been no tension between him and me. We have and continue to have a sound working relationship."
Maimane said Davis had resigned for personal reasons that he was not prepared to discuss with the media.
This line was repeated by several senior DA officials and well-placed MPs who preferred to remain unknown‚ as they are not permitted to speak publicly on the matter.
The resignation comes at a time when there is growing frustration from the DA's prospective co-operative and coalition partners‚ with no policy discussions so far taking place between opposition parties in the run-up to the 2019 general elections.
Some in the Economic Freedom Fighters‚ especially‚ have been deeply frustrated by the fact that discussions between opposition parties have not progressed past tactical and anti-corruption agreements to the realm of policy.
The DA's policy rewriting process‚ which started a year ago and was initially expected to be complete by now‚ is still dragging on.
It is now expected that the policies will only be finalised by the end of the year‚ in time to be discussed‚ caucused and agreed to by the party's nationwide federal congress early next year.
-TimesLIVE
Veil of secrecy over DA policy chief resignation
DispatchLIVE apologises to Gavin Davis, former policy chief of the DA, for failing to offer him a right of reply to allegations made in article below titled "Veil of secrecy over DA policy chief resignation". Mr Davis rejects the allegations contained in the story as having no merit. We accept that our failure led to a one-sided account of the circumstances that led to his resignation. We apologise for the breach.
By Jan-Jan Joubert And Thabo Mokone
The DA has thrown a veil of secrecy over the resignation of its policy chief‚ Gavin Davis‚ who quit in the middle of party's policy formulation process ahead of the 2019 elections.
Davis quietly resigned last week as the party's head of policy and media‚ allegedly over differences of opinion with staff members over the formulation of policies and communication strategies for the official opposition party.
However‚ Davis would stay on as an ordinary DA member of parliament‚ and it was expected that he would be deployed to one of the portfolios within the party's shadow cabinet‚ in which he served previously as communications and basic education shadow ministers.
DA sources claimed this week that Davis grew frustrated with the current path of DA and was not receptive to new ideas on policy formulation and communications plans.
"Staff members disregarded his directions‚ and he became frustrated with the process‚" a DA source said.
"Some staff members felt he represented an earlier incarnation of the DA‚ and that he did not take kindly to new opinions‚" another source added.
Another party insider claimed that Davis‚ who was part of the Helen Zille inner circle during her tenure as party leader‚ was also disgruntled with the DA's policy direction under Mmusi Maimane's current leadership.
The DA is currently on the offensive to win over more black voters as it pulls out all the stops to topple the ANC in the upcoming national elections in 2019.
"Remember the guy is from the core liberal grouping in the party that was close to Zille‚ and such people are likely to sulk when they are not in the current inner circle. There were also some tensions in terms of the creative communication and policy direction of the party‚" said the insider.
Davis has flatly refused to discuss his reasons for stepping down‚ while Maimane has denied any falling out with him.
Other sources claimed that Davis did not see eye to eye with the party's recently appointed executive director of communications‚ Siviwe Gwarube.
But Gwarube said: "I am not aware of why Gavin has resigned as the policy and media consultant. There has been no tension between him and me. We have and continue to have a sound working relationship."
Maimane said Davis had resigned for personal reasons that he was not prepared to discuss with the media.
This line was repeated by several senior DA officials and well-placed MPs who preferred to remain unknown‚ as they are not permitted to speak publicly on the matter.
The resignation comes at a time when there is growing frustration from the DA's prospective co-operative and coalition partners‚ with no policy discussions so far taking place between opposition parties in the run-up to the 2019 general elections.
Some in the Economic Freedom Fighters‚ especially‚ have been deeply frustrated by the fact that discussions between opposition parties have not progressed past tactical and anti-corruption agreements to the realm of policy.
The DA's policy rewriting process‚ which started a year ago and was initially expected to be complete by now‚ is still dragging on.
It is now expected that the policies will only be finalised by the end of the year‚ in time to be discussed‚ caucused and agreed to by the party's nationwide federal congress early next year.
-TimesLIVE
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