Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga has emerged as a possible challenger to Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis in the DA’s leadership race.
While the watershed DA leadership race has not left the stalls yet, party pundits suggest it may be a three-horse sprint.
Best odds, based on party sources, places Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis only slightly ahead of former Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga, who is ahead of uMngeni mayor Chris Pappas.
However, some party insiders believe that if the DA is to survive as multiracial party substantial enough to challenge the ANC for outright dominance at the polls, then another white male – no matter how accomplished – will not send the right message to black voters.
Zille the kingmaker
Presently, it seems that there is a growing undercurrent of support for Msimanga, especially in Gauteng.
On the outside track, Pappas has also been tipped as deputy to either a Msimanga or a Hill-Lewis win.
And while Hill-Lewis may be the DA leadership candidate everyone’s betting on, Msimanga or Pappas could turn out to be the dark horse that pips past the post and ushers in a new direction for the party.
A Gauteng provincial legislature member said Msimanga’s win could cut a clean break for the party.
“Solly is what we need right now,” they said. “He’s charismatic, he’s politically astute and when he shares, people listen.”
A DA West Rand ward councillor said Msimanga will also appeal to conservative white voters, some of whom the party has lost to the Freedom Front Plus.
“Solly is as decisive as Tony Leon was, and level-headed. He stands up for principle,” the councillor said.
Sources have it that Hill-Lewis is party stalwart Helen Zille’s favourite. However, she has not publicly endorsed anyone.
And while a party insider noted she is a kingmaker, Zille said she does not want to get involved.
Yet, whomever Zille endorses, party insiders believe, will likely get the job.
Three-horse race
In Ekurhuleni and Joburg, anecdotal commentary from DA public representatives also suggested Msimanga presently holds a firm set of support.
So does Hill-Lewis and so does Pappas. Msimanga, now 45, led the DA in Tshwane during the 2016 municipal elections and has been a member of the provincial legislature in Gauteng since 2024.
In-between he led a coalition government in the Jacaranda City with a soupcon of controversy.
Hill-Lewis was the youngest member of parliament in the DA’s history and now, at 39, remains the youngest mayor in Cape Town’s history.
Pappas has achieved local political legend with his rapid turnaround in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.
Within a few months of becoming mayor, he racked up major achievements in governance and service delivery.
But much is up in the air and outside of the Western Cape, Hill-Lewis may need to lobby for support.
A Gauteng party faithful said they know nothing about Hill-Lewis apart from the fact that he stepped into a city that was already fixed and got to ride the momentum.
“Helen was the original fixer,” they said. “That’s why she will be a fantastic mayor of Johannesburg and why, as a threesome, Msimanga as leader and Pappas as deputy and Helen fixing Joburg, the DA’s chances of decimating the ANC in 2029 will be closer to actualising.”
Another party member said: “Geordin looks like he could be more of the same, a buddy of John’s.
“We know who Solly is, what he stands for and what his flaws are. And we know what his strengths are. He shares his personal life; he shares his thoughts and vision.”
‘What has he achieved?’
But not everyone thinks Msimanga should even bother standing. Another provincial stalwart said Hill-Lewis is the person who can chart a new course for the DA.
“We need fresh leadership, youth, energy and the kind of passion that Geordin will inject into the party and national politics,” they said.
“Solly comes with too much baggage and really, what has he achieved?”
Msimanga said he has been approached by several people in the party to consider standing.
“I am applying my mind to this and will make a decision and announce it very soon,” he said.
DA leader John Steenhuisen’s exit from the leadership rush has left a vacuum.
Some of the younger party members have called for former DA stalwart and now ActionSA MP Athol Trollip to rejoin and assume the yoke.
A few party members noted that whoever wins the crown must also be prepared to fleece out a few ministers in the government of national unity.
“We have been embarrassed by some lacklustre performance,” they said and one DA-er said that many only recognise Leon Schreiber for his work at home affairs.
Steenhuisen’s step down may also be a consequence of his tenure as minister of agriculture, a collective of party people suggested.
Insiders have bemoaned his handling of the foot-and-mouth disease crisis facing the agriculture sector despite his significant public focus on the challenge.
However, Steenhuisen was also widely credited for holding the party together and rebuilding it after, what they called, the Mmusi Maimane destruction.
Interestingly, no other DA member or public representative wanted to speak on the record, all preferring to speak anonymously.
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