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Dear All,

Three months ago, I tendered my resignation from the Democratic Alliance (DA) to take effect a
suitable time after the conclusion and wrap up of the party’s 2019 election campaign. This was a
process that commenced approximately six months ago so that my family and I could enter a
new phase of life.

It has been a great honour to serve the party in a number of roles since May 2005 and I will
forever be immensely grateful for the opportunities I have been afforded to further the values of
freedom, fairness, opportunity and diversity which are so crucial to the sustainability of our
constitutional democracy.

I am currently in the process of compiling my review of Election 2019 to submit to the team that
will be conducting the broader organisational review announced by Mmusi last week. Like you, I
am deeply disappointed that we were not able to achieve a better election outcome. As I will
indicate in my review, there are a number of factors that contributed to the result and it is
absolutely vital that the party undertake the necessary introspection and learn the lessons of the
difficult period of the past two years. Most importantly though, a clear vision for the party is
needed with the requisite leadership committed to supporting a strategy that will realise that
vision. Unfortunately, our party has been at a crossroads for some time now with some pretty
fundamental disagreement as to who we are, who we are fighting for and what we want to
achieve. It is my hope that the party engage in the necessary processes to resolve these
questions so that we can move forward decisively and with clear purpose. The fact that we have
delayed the resolution of these key questions is undoubtedly a key factor as to why we went
backwards in Election 2019. I am nevertheless very proud of what we stood for in Election 2019
and our principled defence of the non-racial centre of South African politics. I would like to thank
Mmusi for his fierce commitment and leading from the front in communicating the message of
One South Africa For All across the length and breadth of our country.

As an organisation, the DA has come a long way from the organisation that I started working for
in May 2005. It is virtually unrecognisable. We have grown considerably, professionalised and
established a national footprint of good governance. There is a great deal for us to be proud of.

That being said, I do worry that the organisation is losing a core part of its soul. One of the main
reasons I have devoted much of my recent life to the party is in the belief that the DA will one
day form the centre of a national government that truly cares about the people of South Africa.
And certainly, for much of my time in the party, the party internalised and exhibited a philosophy
of care in both the staff and public representative domains that gave credibility to our external
offer of building One South Africa for All. What always made me proud about the DA culture was
its innate sense of decency, respect for the individual and unity of purpose.

It is with great sadness that I have witnessed this sense of care being slowly eroded by some
over the past number of years. I am enough of a realist to know that a political party will always
be an environment of vigorous debate and contestation where internal politics will often rival the
intensity of external political contests. The culture and ethos we once had and protected is in
peril right now with care for and support of our colleagues often deprioritised by a toxic,
abnormal environment. Internal fights, breaking of trust, disunity and inability to manage internal
issues inside the party have become the norm. I do hope that the organisational review
commissioned will take the time to analyse, diagnose and suggest remedies for what is wrong
internally. It is only by fixing our internal culture that we will be able to put our best foot forward
to the voters of South Africa. And the four specific areas that I hope be focused on in this regard
are:

1. Re-orientation and alignment around a shared vision that serves as a unifying point for all in
the party;
2. The rebuilding of an ethos of care, support and building on what works well to replace the
current culture of blame and internal fighting.
3. Firm, decisive leadership committed to supporting a shared vision.
4. Transferring energy from internal fighting to the creativity of new innovation aimed at serving
the people of South Africa.

There is a significant amount of work to be done and it needs to start as soon as possible.
Despite our current electoral situation, we have a great opportunity to retain existing
governments in 2021 and win more municipalities. But this will require unity of purpose and a
strong external focus. It is my sincere belief that if the party focuses as it should, momentum
can be reclaimed and a path towards national government can begin to be forged again with
positive results in the next local government elections. We still have a solid and stable
foundation for future growth. And if we retain what makes us successful, discard what holds us
back and continue to improve and embrace the value of innovation, we can only grow from
strength to strength.

And in terms of moving forward, we have a core team of committed staff, public representatives
and activists I have had the privilege of working with. I would like to pay tribute to these
incredible people. The essence of what makes the DA great is the people within it that live its
core values every single minute of every single day. My inspiration has always been the people
I have worked with and I will never forget the dynamism, innovation and dedication of countless
individuals to whom the people of South Africa owe a great debt of gratitude.

I look forward to wrapping up my involvement with the party in the coming weeks and
contributing to both the review of the campaign and broader organisational review. I also look
forward to the party launching Election 2021 with the degree of focus and unity of purpose that
will make success inevitable. The stakes for our country are far too high for the DA not to
succeed.

All the best

Jonathan Moakes

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