Cape Town - Bonginkosi Madikizela is not the only one back in the spotlight after a drama over his qualifications. Xanthea Limberg, who was sidelined for a Cape Town City Council mayoral committee position, is also making waves in the DA caucus leadership.
She was appointed deputy chairperson of the caucus while her ally, JP Smith, is its deputy leader.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, when announcing Limberg’s exclusion from his Mayco team, said the qualifications saga was still hanging over her.
“The investigation into her has not been concluded, as I had hoped it would be by the time of this process,” Hill-Lewis said when asked about Limberg last year.
The Weekend Argus exclusively revealed last year that Limberg had allegedly falsified her qualifications not only to the DA, but also to other institutions where she represented the City of Cape Town. This led to the DA federal council investigating her and others accused of lying about their credentials.
It is not yet clear what the investigation has unearthed and whether the DA will make it public.
However, life carries on for the party members who were investigated, and they are slowly making their way back to positions.
Madikizela, the former MEC for Transport and Public Works, is expected to be announced as an advisor to premier Alan Winde. The premier suspended Madikizela before he resigned after it was discovered that he had lied about his qualifications.
Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said there was not much difference between the ANC and the DA, because both parties’ decisions were unprincipled.
“The only difference between the two is that the ANC is in power. If the DA was to be in power, their scandals would be the same as the ANC in terms of their appointments. The DA just happens to oppose the ANC.”
He said voters had to live with the fact that there were no perfect political parties in the country.
“In politics, there is no such thing as a perfect choice. It is all about compromise and choosing a better devil.”
The DA failed to respond to the questions sent to them.
Weekend Argus