Cape Town - Newly-minted GOOD Party member of the provincial legislature (MPL) Peter de Villiers said being sworn-in as an MPL was the easy part but the hard work of doing justice to the trust his party and its supporters put in him would now begin.
The former Springbok coach was speaking shortly after being sworn-in at a ceremony presided over by speaker Daylin Mitchell and witnessed by, among others, GOOD Party City councillor and caucus chairperson Suzette Little, as well as MP Brett Herron, who was the first GOOD Party MPL.
De Villiers led the GOOD Party’s campaign in the 2021 Local Government elections in Drakenstein, in which they obtained four seats in the council.
He was picked by the party to replace former MPL Shaun August whose party membership was terminated on May 12.
He said he had not come to the legislature to fight for the sake of fighting but was prepared to fight for what was right and to help the people of the province “overcome the barriers that make them feel inadequate to the system.”
Asked about what committees he would be interested in serving on, De Villiers joked and said one involved with sport would be great. However, he added that he would take his party and the legislature’s guidance on the matter.
De Villiers adopted a conciliatory tone towards his predecessor, August, and said he still had respect for him and it was unfortunate he had made the mistakes that saw him thrown out of the party.
Meanwhile, asked if expulsion was the end of the relationship for August and the GOOD Party, Herron said there was still an appeals process available to August.
He said if any expelled member wished to rejoin the party their applications would be considered by the party’s national management committee.
“If they say they want to rebuild their relationship with the party then we will consider it like any other application.”
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za