The liaison officer of the DA and the Royal Family of Zulu, Mr. Swelakhe Shelembe, has entered the race for the coveted position in the KwaZulu-Natal DA leadership conference.
Shelembe has been nominated in the race for the position of deputy chairman of DA KwaZulu-Natal which is a highly contested position.
There are nine candidates for this position, and the conference will be held on May 9.
Shelembe said that his appointment to this position will strengthen the party’s relationship with the Zulu royal family and kings, and also increase the DA in rural areas, townships and farms.
“The people who raised my name said that the first thing they see as important is that we look closely at something that affects the monarchy, the rural community, the townships and the people living on farms. I have worked a lot in rural areas, townships and farms.
“I started working in these areas in 2012. Campaigning in these areas is different, it’s not the same as in a member where you can campaign by calling people or sending them text messages. Villagers need you to get close to them, build a relationship with them.”
Shelembe said he has done a lot since he was appointed to coordinate the DA with the Zulu National Assembly in 2023.
He said he was able to arrange for the DA leader who has just left office, Mr. John Steenhuisen, to welcome Zwelithini’s Silo Misuzulu Sinqobile.
“I also arranged for the leadership of the DA in KwaZulu-Natal to visit Silo. I also arranged for the provincial leadership to visit Nyazi (the leader of the Nazarenes on the Buhleni side. The mayor of Mngeni (Mr. Chris Pappas) has many kings that I have contacted. I am doing this because I know that KwaZulu-Natal is built on the basis of culture and religion.”
Shelembe is the chairman of the committee responsible for the operation of public funds in the Zululand District Municipality, and is also the DA’s Chief Whip in the AbaQulusi Municipality.
Both of those municipalities are managed jointly by the IFP and the DA. Shelembe boasts that he has uncovered a lot of corruption in these councils.
Shelembe is the one responsible for the allegations that eventually led to the sacking of the former mayor of Ba Qulusi Municipality, Mr. Mncedisi Maphisa.
“In Zululand, there are many managers who have been sacked and some are being investigated because of the work done by the committee I lead. This is the first time in history that there has been a chairman of a committee fighting corruption in this way,” said Shelembe.
Shelembe has been the leader of the youth wing of the DA in KwaZulu-Natal, and is currently part of the team that advises the King of Nadi, Mgungundlovu, Vusizwe Zondi.