DA young guns fail to oust Tex

Infighting in the DA in eThekwini threatens to sow divisions within the party, with the “young guns” having made an unsuccessful attempt to topple caucus leader Tex Collins.

While the party was at pains yesterday trying to dispel suggestions that a plot to oust him was afoot, councillors admitted that in October younger members had wanted Collins removed.

They said this was because of dissatisfaction about the party’s performance in the city’s executive committee.

The concern was that the party had not been firm enough at exco level and so the call for change in leadership was made.

Collins had been on holiday in Thailand when attempts to remove him were first made.

Yesterday councillors downplayed the issue saying it was “just talk” at the time and had been dealt with internally.

The DA, the official opposition in eThekwini, has 43 of the 205 seats in council. The party’s two exco seats are occupied by Collins and Ronnie Veeran.

The Mercury has been informed that Warwick Chapman and Dean Macpherson have been jostling for Collins’s position.

“It’s an open secret that Dean and Warwick have been trying to unseat Tex for a long time now… Among other reasons why they don’t want Tex in his position is that they feel he is a bit too liberal for their liking,” a source said.

Collins told The Mercury the matter was just “pie in the sky” and he still had 18 months to lead.

He confirmed he had been in Thailand when he heard there was a revolt and he named those councillors who were leading the charge.

“They were taking a chance thinking I would take this lying down.

“They are just a bunch of youngsters who think they know it all… They misjudged the level of support I have,” he said.

Later in the day, Collins told The Mercury he was disappointed that it would publicise something that had happened a long time ago, urging The Mercury to exercise responsible journalism.

Collins also threatened he would not give comment to The Mercury in future if the story was published.

Chapman and Macpherson denied claims they were plotting to unseat Collins, both saying they enjoyed a good working relationship with him.

Macpherson said he had served as Collins’s chief whip and had not thought about any leadership challenge “at this stage”.

“Caucus elections are in 18 months. Anyone who is trying to peddle rumours that there is a power struggle is only seeking to create |divisions and disunity in the caucus,” he said.

Asked about previous attempts to unseat Collins, Macpherson said: “No comment… No one should comment on that because it was an internal caucus matter that was dealt with.”

Chapman told The Mercury he was not planning to get rid of Collins, saying the issue had been put to bed in September or October.

“I can’t guarantee what will happen in future, but at the |moment the eThekwini caucus is working effectively.

“Tex Collins has full support as leader of the eThekwini caucus,” he said.

KwaZulu-Natal DA leader Sizwe Mchunu said Collins had been democratically elected and that during the caucus elections Collins, Chapman and Macpherson had been vying for the caucus leader |position.

“Tex won with a comfortable majority and enjoys the support of his caucus. At no stage have I seen or heard any reports that there was unhappiness with his performance,” he said.

Mchunu added that he was happy with the DA’s performance in the eThekwini exco.