By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has made a number of changes to its parliamentary caucus, including the appointment of Siviwe Gwarube as the official opposition’s new chief whip.
DA leader John Steenhuisen announced the change to his caucus at a DA federal executive meeting on Thursday morning.
Gwarube’s appointment as chief whip is the biggest change to the DA’s whippery and shadow cabinet, which is made up of MPs.
The axe fell on Natasha Mazzone just under three years after she was appointed in the post, and after months of rumours she would be removed from the position.
She will now represent the party in the joint standing committee on intelligence, the secretive committee that holds the country’s spooks to account — with a specific focus on overhauling the oversight model of the state security apparatus. Mazzone will also serve as a national security adviser to Steenhuisen.
Steenhuisen, himself a former chief whip, and a number of MPs close to him have not been happy with her performance as a chief whip.
Mazzone was the first woman to be the party’s chief whip.
When Steenhuisen appointed her, he said he was hoping to bring stability to the DA caucus. This was at a time when then party leader Mmusi Maimane abruptly left, and Steenhuisen was elected leader of the caucus.
The DA has also appointed Noko Masipa as the spokesperson for agriculture, land reform and rural development, while Dianne Kohler-Barnard is the party’s new spokesperson for communications.
Marina Van Zyl, the DA’s newest MP, is an additional member of the basic education committee while MP Solly Malatsi will reprise his role of national spokesperson alongside Cilliers Brink.