Plato quit the DA after many sleepless nights: ‘I opted to make a clean break’
Plato quit the DA after many sleepless nights: ‘I opted to make a clean break’
“I made my decision according to my conscience.”
These are the sentiments of former DA stalwart, Dan Plato, as he recounts the days leading to his decision to break away from the party just months before a national election.
Speaking to the Weekend Argus shortly after he publicly announced his move to the People Movement for Change headed by Marius Fransman, Plato said that his plight to assist the poor communities in the Western Cape had become hamstrung.
Plato, originally from Ravensmead, has served in local and provincial governments since 1996. He was thrust into the limelight more than 10 years ago when he took over from Helen Zille as Cape Town mayor.
Since then he has held various positions in various government spheres including Community Safety MEC and an MPL serving on the social development standing committee and the chair of the petition committee, which are the posts he held until his resignation two weeks ago.
While the move shocked many Capetonians, Plato said he had been struggling for months leading up to the decision.
He added that he had sleepless nights worried about making a move. “There were issues I was grappling with. As many parties have manifestos that say they are pro-poor, it’s just lip service. I was struggling with that.”
After noting the launch of PMC he opted to approach Fransman.
“I approached him because he speaks my language. He seems to understand the plight of the poor and that was always something I advocate for. When I left as mayor I was dismayed that projects that I had started such as the Walking Bus, the food aids, the Youth in Life Programme and improvement projects like the lighting of Baden Powell were done away with.
“These were not Dan projects, these were formulated after listening to and analysing the needs of the community. I also looked at all available parties and two things stood out for me.
“I could not align myself with a party where their leader takes the stage and uses the P-word and then there are parties that offer our people liquor during election campaigns. I felt PMC was the new kid on the block and had good values.”
While Zille has made a public statement saying his move was related to him not making the new candidate list, Plato said the names on the list were never revealed and not linked to his decision.
“I opted to make a clean break from the DA. I am not interested in mudslinging and I don’t have any issues with the DA. The DA was good to me and they are a good political party. I made my decision according to my conscience. When my resignation was announced several of the leaders like JP Smith, Alan Winde, Tertuis Simmers and Daylin Mitchell sent me beautiful messages wishing me well.
“And this is based on the mutual respect we have among each other. There were, of course, others who labelled me as a traitor and so on, but that is not even worth noting. We parted on respectable terms.”
Plato, originally from Ravensmead, has served in local and provincial governments since 1996. Picture: Mahira Duval.
Provincial DA leader, Tertuis Simmers, said the party has always advocated for the improvement of the lives of indigent communities. He said where the DA govern with an outright majority they are able to effect change and align the budgets to uplift communities but in areas where they formed part of coalition governments, it was a bit harder.
Commenting on Plato’s departure, he said: “I respect his choice and we wish him well. The positions he has held will tell you about the impact he had. I remember I was still in school when he was in the DA. We do not expect any bad blood and we have a high level of gratitude towards him.
“While we respect individuals’ right to choice, we have seen no immediate resignations from the party in reaction to him leaving so we believe that the members, while they respect his choice, remain loyal to the DA”.
Professor Cherrel Africa, of the Political Studies Department at UWC, said political defections do tend to occur in the run-up to elections for various reasons.
“Politicians switch to different parties for many reasons. I would not want to speculate on any specific defection. The main reasons for switching typically include disagreements and dissatisfaction with their party in terms of leadership, internal dynamics or the overall direction of the party.
“Alternatively, it may relate to the candidate’s perception of whether they can make a bigger impact via the new party and/ or enhancing their own chances in the elections.”
Weekend Argus