Overview
- Neville Delport, the ANC’s former Western Cape provincial secretary, formally joined the DA alongside three ANC figures named as Daniel Baadjies, Paul Strauss and Jason Donn.
- Helen Zille announced the move at a Cape Town briefing, saying the DA offers principles and constitutionalism rather than material incentives or favours.
- Delport cited disillusionment with the ANC’s disbanding of its Western Cape PEC and praised the DA’s record on clean governance and service delivery.
- The defectors said they had considered the Patriotic Alliance but criticized its service‑delivery record in wards it governs.
- The ANC condemned Delport’s decision in a statement, calling the DA a right‑wing formation and framing his departure as consistent with its renewal drive, while Zille predicted further ANC decline in the province.