Ndipiwe Olayi: Liam Jacobs will regret his defection…

The shock defection from the Democratic Alliance to the Patriotic Alliance of Liam Jacobs has opened a can of worms. In this interview with BizNews, interim DA Youth Federal Leader Ndipiwe Olayi describes the reasons Jacobs put forward as “really unfair and untrue”. He recalls being with Jacobs the day before he made the announcement when “he was actually celebrating how the DA has been performing”. Olayi notes that in Jacobs’s live social media appearance “he was a bit manic - and it was hysterical to be very honest… And I think he will come to regret that decision.” Oyali also outlines what it takes to rise to the highest office in the DA Youth; his own track record in local government; his future politicas aspirations - and the vision of the DA Youth to deal with especially rampant youth unemployment. He has harsh words for the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) where “board members and individuals that are employed in the structure are employing cronies aligned to the ANC (African National Congress) Youth League. And we find that this billion-ran budget, if not more, because it gets a lot of investment from the private sector as well, it's mismanaged and misused.”.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here.The auditorium doors will open for BNIC#2 on 10 September 2025 in Hermanus. For more information and tickets, click here..Watch here.Listen here.Edited transcript of the interview .Chris Steyn (00:01.806)The shock defection from the Democratic Alliance to the Patriotic Alliance of Liam Jacobs has opened a can of worms. We speak to interim DA Youth Federal Leader Ndipiwe Olayi. Welcome.Ndipiwe Olayi (00:20.093)Thank you very much, Chris, for welcoming me. It's an honour to be here and good morning to yourself and your viewers.Chris Steyn (00:27.67)Now, Jacobs, with his spirited parliamentary performances, was seen as a rising star. But it has now emerged that he was deeply unhappy in the Democratic Alliance. Were you aware of his concerns?Ndipiwe Olayi (00:44.465)Well, to be very honest, I listened to a few of the reasons he put forward as to why he decided to leave the Democratic Alliance. And to me, I feel like those reasons are really unfair and untrue, to be very honest. I was actually with him the day before he made the announcement at Youth Parliament where we sat next to each other. And even in those discussions that we had, intimate discussions that we had, he didn't make anything clear about how his unhappiness, he made nothing clear about his intention, nor were there any shady hints as to him defecting. In fact, he was actually celebrating how the DA has been performing and encouraging some of the people that were on the podium, making addresses to Youth Parliament to perhaps join the Democratic Alliance and joking that we should recruit those individuals to be part of our ranks. So it came to me as a shock and as a surprise, to be very honest, but...when I look at Liam's track record and where we come from, I know him before, was even the DASO leader. And there's some things that we can talk about in that regard as well as your questions progress. But yeah.Chris Steyn (01:55.746)Did you watch the live performance with him and Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie?Ndipiwe Olayi (02:03.453)Surprising enough, I was scrolling through my Facebook at that time, I think an hour before the Live went up. And I think I saw an infographic with Liam's face on the Patriotic Alliance backdrop. And I asked myself, could this be real? Is this AI or what? But then I went into the Live and I saw how manic actually he looked in that Live. He was a bit manic and it was hysterical to be very honest. Then I confirmed that no indeed he did defect. And it's funny also why he says he did that because when we brought him into the DA Youth itself, he applied to my office to be considered for a programmme that I was spearheading, which is called the Programme for Young Politicians in Africa. This was back in 2023 around there. We took him to a week to Johannesburg at a so-called Apollo Hotel, where we then had discussions in terms of the upcoming DASO Federal Congress that was about to take place where Liam made it clear that he had intentions to contest. And discussions were had that time amongst the youth members as to who will be supported. And I decided to stay away from these discussions to allow the younger generation, for lack of a better sense, to have these internal bickering and dynamics amongst themselves without the influence of senior leaders such as myself. And allowed that to happen. Then when the Congress came, Liam became elected by a very small margin, but elected nevertheless. And he states that he's one of the, he left the party because the party does not give Coloured leaders an opportunity. Well, if you look at himself by his trajectory, he came to join the party from the ANC during the SRC election time. He came to the DA Youth. He got elected as DASO National Leader. That's a huge, huge responsibility serving at the DA's apex structure, which is the Federal Executive.Ndipiwe Olayi (04:08.637)And then he got elected to Parliament as a so-called Coloured leader himself. So is he trying to say that those individuals that are mayors that are Coloured, those are members of Parliament being Coloured, they don't identify as Coloured or he doesn't view them as Coloured? And it's a new phenomenon even for him to actually be entertaining this race-based politics because it's not in him or in his nature. That's not the type of person I brought into the programme which I was spearheaded at the time. So it was quite a big shock for me to be very honest.But people make bad mistakes all the time. So we'll see how that plays out for you down the line.Chris Steyn (04:44.866)Yes, these defections don't always turn out very well, as we have seen with Floyd Shivambu's defection from the Economic Freedom Fighters to MK. But obviously, you would not want to venture a prediction at this stage as to how this will turn out for Liam.Ndipiwe Olayi (05:04.317)Indeed, indeed. And to be very honest, he speaks about going home and being free and we all know that type of organisations…I engage a lot with a lot of political organisations. It's the nature of politics that you constantly have to understand the dynamics around. And if he thinks that that organisation itself is going to be truly allowed to express himself, then he’s got another coming, another thing coming. Where a leader himself decides to go on a Live and say, come on, come up, you are fired. So those type of so-called democracies is not something that he perhaps is aware of.In the DA itself, we are truly democratic organisation and he's a perfect example of that, of how he raised and rose through the ranks. And I think he will come to regret that decision. I, for one, will not be there to welcome him when he decides to come back.This is unfortunately a trend amongst individuals who perhaps were not ready to be given those many responsibilities at the time. You know, politics attracts extremes of individuals and the type of extreme that was attracted by him was an individual perhaps that had an overinflated sense of importance because in the Democratic Alliance, we're cruising very nicely without Liam Jacobs. We are institutionalised. We have strong young people in the party coming up the ranks, capable leaders that have been in the structures of the organisation, and activists that actually have a heart, day in, day out, doing door-to-door canvassing for the organisation. So we are cruising very nicely.Chris Steyn (06:40.846)Do you think his defection will have an impact on results in upcoming by-elections?Ndipiwe Olayi (06:47.909)I see they're working very hard in Mossel Bay. And I see they're working very hard in Nelson Mandela Bay. You know, the thing about by elections, it's not the same as national government elections. Firstly, the turn-out is much lower. Secondly, it's also the people's excitement about the elections is not as much. And it's a funny phenomenon. People think if you look at the Economic Freedom Front, if you go to Twitter in the previous elections, you’d think the EFF was going to win the elections. And you’d think the EFF is probably the leading power party in South Africa. But the results shocked people. So when you have TikTokers coming and parading as leaders and thinking they're going to change the will of the people, you have another thing coming because you understand the power of social media, but the world of the people and the plight of the people of the crowd is a different reflection, particularly how social media handles information on a day in, day out basis, influenced by a number of factors.Chris Steyn (07:48.28)Tell me what does it take to rise to the highest office in the DA Youth?Ndipiwe Olayi (07:54.545)That is a very interesting question. Thank you very much. I think the example of an individual that can rise through the structures is someone that is resilient, someone that is not weak-willed, but driven by a deep passion for one's country and party. That drive itself will allow an individual to get up every day and continue the routine of campaigning, continue the routine of advocating for those that do not have the capabilities or the resources to fight and advocate for themselves. And as a result, you're then driven by those initiatives and those fights of young people. And it's really tough, however. Politics is a tough terrain for any young person. It deals with you mentally, psychologically, and it's a thankless job. So you need to be a self-starter, self-motivated individual to understand why you are doing this; myself according to politics at a very young age through my mother. And I saw the struggles of politics then already. And you truly need to be a self-starter, particularly in youth politics. It's a dog-eat-dog world. And you at times have individuals that are trying to bring you down simply because you represent the interests of the structure at the highest level. And at times, you are in a political terrain, have individuals that do not necessarily see eye to eye with you. You need to navigate those environments. Above and beyond that, you need to be committed to the values and the vision of the organisation that you represent, such as the Democratic Alliance, and advocate and drive these values on a daily basis and also exhibit and live those values.You need to also not to be someone that can be easily shaken, someone that is easily bought, or person that can easily be a carrot dangled in front of your eyes and you decide to jump ship for the next best thing. In the politics of youth is the politics of the long haul because after the youth politics you graduate into a different level of politics and fortunately in the Democratic Alliance we have youth members that are in Parliament….Ndipiwe Olayi (09:59.825)…that our executive members such as MMCs and mayors like in Stellenbosch municipality, we have four or five DA Youth members that are members of the mayoral committee. The youngest being 24 years old. And these are the individuals that are coming through the ranks, being forwarded opportunities, regardless of their upbringing, regardless of their background, and they are committed to the values of the organisation and need to be celebrated to be very honest. And this is what I'm going to try to highlight going forward in my leadership journey to celebrate all the young people we have in the ranks to display to South Africa that the DA Youth and the DA ultimately does not have one individual. It has many young capable individuals. So tenacity is also very important.Chris Steyn (10:40.839)Talking about that, what is your own track record in local government?Ndipiwe Olayi (10:45.501)I got elected at the age of 20 years old, when 21, 20, 21 years old, 10 years now in local government. At that time, I think I was one of the youngest councillors in the country. And I was coming from the backdrop of the Fees Must Fall movement before it was hijacked by extremist and radical individuals that seek to benefit politically from the struggles, the general struggles of young people and students at the time. So we came from that background. In 2014, 2015, campaigned for the Democratic Alliance, actively while I was a student. And 2016 ultimately got elected on the PR list in Stellebosch for the Democratic Alliance. I've served on various portfolios from sports, youth, culture to protection services to community development - and I think also what gave me an insight into the complex workings of local government. It's a really intricate sphere of government is serving on the municipal Public Accounts Committee which gives a holistic view of the functionings and the going on of government on a day to day basis, particularly the financial report itself.The previous election I got re-elected as a PR councillor, also made it to the M&G as one of the top 200 most influential South Africans. When I first got elected as a councilloir, I think I was the DA Youth Regional Chairperson in the West region, which is the Boland region. My second term, I became the Provincial Chair of the DA Youth, leading the DA Youth actually to its first ever provincial congress in the Western Cape. Second term got elected again as a councillor and the Mayor saw some potential. Of course at that time I was a young person and I believe we need organic growth through the structures as we see people that get parachuted, how that gets to their head and get arrogant. So organically I grew through the structures and became a Member of the Mayoral Committee overlooking parks, open spaces and cemeteries. If you've been in Stellenbosch you can see how beautifully we maintain this town of ours. It's a gem to be very honest.Ndipiwe Olayi (12:52.991)Ultimately, I think local government has played a role in shaping my leadership and my understanding as the face value of voters out there. You learn to interact with people and also be able to manage some egos and dynamics on the ground level, which has assisted me greatly in my rise also in the DA side of things.Chris Steyn (13:14.328)Talking about your rise in the party, how far or high do you see yourself going?Ndipiwe Olayi (13:21.019)Most politicians run away from this question, to be very honest. If you ask a politician if they have an ambition of contesting, they'll come back and say, I'm still evaluating, I'm still thinking about it. I'm still consulting the branches. I think most of us who join politics have a divine...firstly, of course, a divine interest and want to deliver services and change the lives of people. And when you get into politics to truly change the material conditions of South Africa and South Africans primarily, you understand that the highest office in the land is the only place that that is possible. And as by saying that, I think...President is the decision or rather the reason why most people would want to see themselves or where most people want to see themselves, but by saying that I truly understand the generational struggles and the incremental organic growth that one has to go through so I cannot simply stand here and say that definitely in the next couple years I want to be President: there's still some amount of growth that I have to do as a young person; I'm 30 years old now, 10 years in government and 13 years in politics I think I still have a lot to learn from the current existing crop of leaders that we have, but ultimately I'm driven by occupying the highest office in the land and truly implementing and campaigning for the Democratic Alliance to achieve political liberation for…into that highest office of the land for us to be able to fully implement our policies and our vision that will ultimately improve the material conditions and the lives of ordinary South Africans on a daily basis.Chris Steyn (14:52.494)Now, meanwhile, what is the vision of the DA Youth, especially with rampant youth unemployment?Ndipiwe Olayi (14:59.005)That's a very good question to be very honest. And this is one that many youth formations grapple with. In the DA Youth, I myself grappled with understanding how can we tackle this. I've came to the realisation that all of these great ideas and these mega projects that people are coming to, they're forgetting the most basic thing: basic service delivery. The primary things what we need to do ensure that the roads work, that the roads work, the railways work, service delivery in terms of water connection, refuse collection. That attracts investment to come into your town. When you do that, you can find a bigger revenue base to cross-subsidise that revenue base with skills development initiatives, such as investing in young peoples from basic skills to the most advanced skills and affording bursaries. We then have to then go forward and look at policies that are job and economic growth killing such as BEE in its current form. We need to then re-haul and reimagine how we can then fix the playing fields in a way that people have an equality of opportunity, but not creating an equality of outcome because that's ridiculous in essence. So what I believe is we need to get the basics right. Too many local governments in South Africa are failing and local governments is the first level where people are looking for services, particularly young people. We then have to need a complete overhaul in the National Youth Development Agency. This NYDA structure and organisation itself is sitting at the apex level of youth development in the country. Yet we find a situation where board members and individuals that are employed in the structure are employing cronies aligned to the ANC Youth League. And we find that this billion-ran budget, if not more, because it gets a lot of investment from private sector as well, it's mismanaged and misused. It needs to then be devolved into provinces which are competent enough to deal with those finances and devolved into local governments that are competent enough to assist the young people. The DA Youth also working, as we see in our governments where we've been advocating for One-Stop shops, like in the Drakenstein municipality, like in the City of Cape Town. What this does ultimately, it says to a young person, if you're looking for a job, if you want to print a CV, if you want career guidance, if you want advice…Ndipiwe Olayi (17:23.739)… this is one place you can go visit. We'll assist you with Internet access because access to Internet is a barrier for economic participation and finding a job ultimately for young person. You can access Internet here and apply for jobs here. You can then also, once you get career advice and guidance, we have individuals that can assist you with drafting your CV in a professional manner because we need to look at the readiness of young people's ability, are they job ready, are they workplace ready trained. Because we need to look at the draft of the CV is correct. Once you do get that guidance, you print your CV for them. And then above and beyond that in the City of Cape Town, we have this youth opportunity vouchers in a DA-run city, which says that when you're a young person, and I'm sort of getting excited about this, when you're young person and you're looking for a job, and you have an interview, you can get on the public transport system for free because we understand the barriers of accessing job and employment opportunities are those little things that most people overlook - and it's happening in DA-led governments - and this gives me immense pride because it's what we're advocating for in the DA Youth. We advocated via our Federal Congress by proposing policy alternatives, many of which were passed and now being implemented in our government that assist with the ease of doing business, that assists people that have been knocked out of opportunities with the ability to access those opportunities by ensuring that some sites that have advertising jobs, you don't require data to access them. You can go to One-Stop shops, you print, get guidance, and you have a way to go to interviews. Because how are you expected to attend your interview or deliver CVs if you're unemployed, coming from a background where this 20 Rand is either going to be for bread or you're to have to use it for taxi. And this is lived realities of young people in South Africa and many individuals in these powerful positions in NYDA they simply lining up their pockets, not understanding the plight of people there. And when you employ your cronies into these strategic positions, you then unfortunately, just advantageing the people that are capable and in line to deliver services and create job opportunities for young South Africans. So the DA Youth will be keeping a close eye on individuals such as…the Minister of Women, Youth and People with Disabilities, but also the Minister of Higher Education in the CETA board's appointments…Ndipiwe Olayi (19:39.007)…and holding them to account via our spokesperson…who is doing a fantastic job into holding an account because we understand unemployment and these corrupt activities have a face and it's the face of young South Africans.Chris Steyn (19:51.638)Indeed, thank you. That was DA Youth Federal Chair Ndipiwe Olayi speaking to BizNews and I am Chris Steyn. Thank you.Ndipiwe Olayi (20:02.119)Thank you very much for having me.

Ndipiwe Olayi: Liam Jacobs will regret his defection…

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