Young technocrats take over the DA: John Matisonn

Key topics:DA leadership to be dominated by young, post-grad educated technocratsGeordin Hill-Lewis likely to lead, Gauteng influence set to risePolls show DA gaining ahead of local elections, ANC struggles continue.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 every morning on 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..By John Matisonn.In less than two weeks a new Democratic Alliance leadership will emerge that is young, many with formal, post-graduate education suited to fixing the government, and little direct memory of legal apartheid.While the next leader is almost certain to be Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, who is white, the racial balance is likely to shift slightly, and Gauteng’s influence on party leadership will likely increase too.Hill-Lewis was born on 31 December 1986, which means he was four when Nelson Mandela left prison and eight when Mandela became president.Ashor Sarupen, the deputy finance minister who is the frontrunner to succeed Helen Zille in the powerful role of federal council chair, is even younger. He was two when Mandela was released and six when he became president.Although Sarupen was born in KwaZulu-Natal he grew up in Gauteng, working his way up from Ekurhuleni town councillor to the provincial legislature before entering parliament. Gauteng DA leaders Solly Msimanga and Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink are contesting other senior national positions..Read more:.Will the real Geordin Hill-Lewis please stand up: Phil Craig.If the 2010s were dominated by then DA leader Helen Zille’s efforts to replace herself with black leaders by parachuting in Dr Mamphela Ramphela or turbo-charging the overly rapid rise of Mmusi Maimane and Lindiwe Mazibuko to the parliamentary leadership, the 2020s is seeing the rise of younger technocrats with post-graduate degrees designed for nuts and bolts governing.The most notable difference is in the focus of post-graduate education of contenders in fields like computer science, economic policy and technology.Hill-Lewis earned a masters’ degree in economic policy at the University of London after obtaining a B.Com. and an honours degree in politics, philosophy and economics at the University of Cape Town.Sarupen, frontrunner to be fedex chair, holds a BSc Hons and three master’s degrees -- an MBA from Wits, a masters in corporate strategy and another in international business from the University of Pretoria.Dr Mark Burke, who is running for chair of the party’s finance committee, holds two bachelors’ degrees, in computer science and language technology, from North West University, a master’s in computer science from UCT and both a masters and doctorate in technology policy which he earned at Cambridge University on a Mandela-Rhodes Scholarship. Burke has started two successful fintech companies. Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber, who is not running for national party office, holds a BA Hons and MA from Stellenbosch in political science, and a doctorate from the Free University of Berlin focussed on social welfare systems in South Africa and Brazil, followed by four years as a senior researcher in development at Princeton.Hill-Lewis’ challenger for the national leadership is a relatively minor figure in the party Sibusiso Dyonase, who is unlikely to represent a serious threat, but Deputy Finance Minister Ashor Sarupen, going for Zille’s powerful post as federal council chair, faces stiffer Free State lawyer Werner Horn, though Sarupen should still win. Sarupen is widely respected both in government and finance and also has election campaign experience, but he is likely to be low-key in this position compared to Zille, whom he would succeed.The DA goes into its national congress on April 10 and 11 buoyed by improving polling numbers ahead of crucial local elections at the end of this year. Former DA leader and Cape Town mayor Zille’s effort drew 39% in the latest Social Research Foundation poll. That is about 50% better than in the general election last year, and would overtake the African National Congress for the first time at a historic low of only 30%..Read more:.Cape Town’s 30% levy hike sparks public fury ahead of 2026 local elections.Poll numbers look remarkable while ANC continues beset by infighting so bad that not yet any sign sufficiently galvanised and united to face the most important contest, Johannesburg, to tackle Zille’s campaign.National spokesperson and MP Karabo Khakhau has accepted nomination as first deputy chairperson of the DA federal council.

Young technocrats take over the DA: John Matisonn

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