Johannesburg - Former DA head of policy Gwen Ngwenya could soon return to her post if some within the DA have their way.
Ngwenya resigned from the post early this year, accusing the party’s leadership under its former leader Mmusi Maimane of not taking the advice of her policy unit seriously in determining the DA’s policy offer.
A vocal member of the DA’s conservative faction, Ngwenya has been a critic of Maimane and the direction of the DA under him, especially the use of race in policies of redress.
She has also been a loyal supporter of federal council chairperson Helen Zille, another vocal critic of Maimane.
Newly elected DA interim leader John Steenhuisen confirmed that the position would be filled by the party’s federal executive, which is scheduled to meet this week.
“That process is still ongoing and our federal executive will be convening later this week, but that is not my lane. That is Helen’s lane. She will be leading the discussion on that matter within the federal executive,” Steenhuisen.
This effectively placed Zille in the most powerful position in terms of deciding who occupied the post.
Steenhuisen also confirmed that Ngwenya’s name had come up for consideration during the special federal council meeting over the past weekend where he was elected to replace Maimane.
He said the council, however, did not decide on whether she should be appointed as it had no power to do so.
“The federal council has no say over staff appointments. There was a discussion but the process is still underway,” he said.