Lindiwe Mazibuko will not be returning to SA to stand for DA election

As a young thirty-something, Lindiwe Mazibuko has already achieved many great things. Born in Swaziland to a banker father and a nurse mother, Mazibuko has an Honours degree in political communication and is currently furthering her studies at the prestigious Harvard University in the US. Her political career started when she decided to write her Honours thesis on Helen Zille and upon its completion, the DA employed her as a researcher. She was elected to parliament in 2009 and in 2011, she was made the DA’s Parliamentary Leader, making her the youngest black woman leader in the history of the DA’s parliamentary caucus. After Helen Zille announced yesterday that she will not be running for re-election, Mazibuko has stated that she herself will not be running for election either. However, Mazibuko’s future is certainly a bright one, and she will certainly back on the South African political scene in no time. – Tracey Ruff

Johannesburg – Former Democratic Alliance Parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko has quashed rumours that she could be returning to South Africa to stand for the top position in the opposition party.One of Lindiwe Mazibuko's Facebook profile pictures.

“I wish to clarify that I will not be making myself available for election to any leadership post at the DA’s 2015 congress,” she said in a statement on Monday.

“Rather, I will be watching and supporting my friends, colleagues and fellow democrats from across the Atlantic.”

This followed an announcement by DA leader Helen Zille on Sunday that she would not stand for re-election at the party’s federal congress in Port Elizabeth next month.

Studying at Harvard

Mazibuko quit her job at the DA last year following the general elections. She left to study at Harvard University in America.

At the time, Mazibuko made the announcement to the Sunday Times before she had informed party leader Helen Zille.

The two had reportedly fallen out in November 2013 over the way in which the DA parliamentary caucus handled legislation on employment equity.

Mazibuko on Monday said she remained committed to South Africa and the DA and would make herself available for a position at a later stage.

Contribution

“I believe that I have much to contribute to the project of building a better country for all our people… When the time is right, I will make myself available for whichever position I believe will enable me to best make a contribution towards building a better South Africa.

“That time, however, is not now.”

She wished the candidate or candidates who would stand well in the upcoming leadership campaign and election.

According to City Press, the DA has extended the deadline for nominations by four days following Zille’s announcement. Nominations were meant to close on April 20.

News24

 

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