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- Mbali Ntuli has resigned as from the DA and as a member of the legislature in KwaZulu-Natal.
- The former DA youth leader said her decision to leave the party she served for more than 10 years was not easy.
- Ntuli, 33, was credited for the inroads made by the DA in rural KwaZulu-Natal.
Mbali Ntuli, a prominent political figure in the DA, has resigned as a member of the party and as a member of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature.
In a resignation letter on Thursday, she said her departure was a necessary move and that it did not come easily.
"Change is good. It provides an opportunity for reflection and renewal. It is in that spirit that I today inform you that I have tendered my resignation as a member of the Democratic Alliance and a member of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature," Ntuli said in a statement.
In her letter, she outlined the challenges she faced in the party and said she was leaving with a sense of compassion for those who remained in the DA.
READ | Mbali Ntuli shuffled as DA in KwaZulu-Natal makes sweeping changes to legislature
In 2020, she contested the DA's leadership position and lost by a significant margin to John Steenhuisen. While campaigning to lead the party, she challenged what she described as "cult-like culture" or fear that dominated the party. She believed the party's disciplinary structure was often used as a weapon for political point-scoring.
"My colleagues in the DA know better than most the difficult and relentless challenges I have faced in the party, in part because so many have played out in the public domain, but also because our party (like any other organisation) is not immune to gossip.
"I have been forthright about instances where the DA has erred in its treatment of its members and the negative culture that is fostered within the organisation - my opposition of which formed part of my year-long campaign for DA leader in 2020," Ntuli said in her letter.
"So I leave with a deep sense of compassion for those of you who will remain, and wish you all the best as you forge ahead with the exemplary work you do as individuals to help improve South Africa."
The former youth leader said she joined the DA at 19, believing that South Africa needed a change from the ANC administration. She now believes the country's political system and its political parties have failed to deal with socio-economic problems and enable South Africans to advance and access opportunities.
"I want to work with community leaders across South Africa to harness their potential to realise change. It is, therefore, time for me to take a break from formal politics to get back on the ground and to help real change-makers make our country better," she said.
KwaZulu-Natal political career
The former youth leader was the party's spokesperson for cooperative governance and traditional affairs in the province. She served the opposition political party for more than 10 years, beginning her political career in the DA's youth structure.
Ntuli led the youth structure from 2013 and later served as a councillor in eThekwini.
She was credited for overseeing the DA's growth in rural parts of KwaZulu-Natal, which included Mkhanyakude in the province's northern region.
In her letter, Ntuli referenced her journey in the party, including overseeing its marginal growth in KwaZulu-Natal in the 2019 elections. The DA grew its seat allocation from 10 to 11 in the provincial legislature.
Political controversy
Her political rise in the party was not without controversy. Her most controversial viewpoints came when she butted heads with the federal council chairperson Helen Zille over race.
Ntuli's departure is the latest in a series of resignations from prominent DA members in the past three years. The party lost other prominent figures, including former leader Mmusi Maimane, Athol Trollip, Herman Mashaba and Phumzile van Damme.
The former members all pointed to concerns about the party's direction on why they had decided to leave.
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