The DA picked a few black leaders but the whites still pull the strings – Prince Mashele
Political analyst Prince Mashele said that the Democratic Alliance (DA) is not genuine about uniting South Africa and that people see through their plan.
He shared his views on the DA during the 2026 Biznews Conference at the Champagne Sports Resort in the Drakensberg.
Mashele said that the DA will continue to make marginal political gains, but will not be able to unite South Africa and gain a majority.
“The DA operates on the belief that a minority can manipulate and dominate the majority. This style of politics will no longer work in a modern democracy,” he said.
“The idea that you are going to pick a few black people and give them positions in the DA while you pull the strings, thinking the majority doesn’t see it. They can see it.”
He argued that the only future for South Africa is whites, blacks, Indians, and Coloureds working together, where no one manipulates anyone.
“It has to involve the best of all groups. No one has experimented with this yet. The various groups have simply been trying to manipulate each other,” he said.
However, that does not mean that he opposes the Democratic Alliance. “I’m not anti-DA. I don’t have the DA,” he said.
He publicly endorsed Helen Zille for Johannesburg, calling her a good leader with a proven track record in Cape Town and as Western Cape Premier.
“I truly believe Helen Zille can do something good to try and turn the City of Johannesburg around,” he said.
Mashele also criticised the ANC and the MK Party during his discussion at the 2026 Biznews Conference.
He said that the African National Congress (ANC) is the biggest national liability facing South Africa and that it does not deserve any votes.
“My advice is for people not to vote for the ANC. It is the biggest national liability facing our country. They have broken the backbone of our infrastructure,” he said.
“These people are thieves. They’re about looting. They’re not about building the country. So, I make no bones about it. Don’t vote for the African National Congress.”
Turning his attention to the MK Party, he said it was a tribal family party belonging to the Zuma family. “You can see it is a tribal and family affair, and it is chaos,” he said.
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Prince Mashele argues that the DA has appointed a few Black leaders while real power remains in the hands of white people. However, an alternative view is that the DA, unlike the ANC’s cadre deployment approach, seeks to place individuals in positions based on their skills, experience, and ability to perform the job effectively, regardless of race.
Many supporters point to the Western Cape’s service delivery and quality of life as evidence that this approach has produced positive outcomes in municipal governance.
The real question is whether public appointments should be driven primarily by race, or by competence and the ability to deliver results. Surely most South Africans would prefer capable and qualified people in key positions, irrespective of their skin colour, rather than appointments made solely to satisfy racial considerations.