Cape Town - The DA’s Federal Executive (FedEx) has acknowledged receiving communication from the Western Cape legislature speaker, Masizole Mnqasela, following a request for him to reapply for party membership, which was terminated this week.
“We have received correspondence from Mr Mnqasela and it is being dealt with by the FedEx,” FedEx chairperson Helen Zille said.
Mnqasela was given until Tuesday morning to respond, after the DA terminated his party membership because of disparaging remarks he had made about the party or decisions of its structures.
In a radio interview, Zille said the DA had a clause in its constitution that if a person continued to disparage the party or decisions taken by its structures, they could be warned by the FedEx.
If they continued to do so, then the member effectively terminated their membership.
“In July, he unreasonably disparaged the party and its processes by referring, among other things, to a witch-hunt against him. That is basically what he accused the party of after the disciplinary process against him.
“On 29 July, the FedEx met and discussed his statements, then he was sent a cease and desist letter.
On July 30 he acknowledged receiving the letter and said he would reason more fully, which he never did.
“But he did stop disparaging for a long time until this last weekend when he held a press briefing where he repeated his statements on a political witch-hunt and agenda which was immediately in violation of the constitution. So, it was a cessation of his membership,” said Zille.
Mnqasela held a media briefing at the legislature on Sunday, where he addressed a motion of no confidence being filed by the party against him.
He labelled the motion as strange, saying there was no complaint before the House against him as speaker from the DA, and that it came while he was in a disciplinary process with the party.
Mnqasela, a senior DA member, was suspended from all party activities in May following allegations of fraud and corruption.
This related to subsistence, travel and entertainment allowance claims he had made.
Earlier this year the FedEx resolved that Mnqasela be charged with misconduct.
The party had handed over documents to the Hawks for investigation after two alleged whistle-blowers provided Premier Alan Winde with submissions relating to allowance claims.
Mnqasela did not respond to enquiries on Tuesday.
Cape Times