Helen Zille

The Honourable Helen Zille MPP
Premier of the Western Cape
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2009
Preceded by	Lynne Brown
Leader of the Democratic Alliance
In office 6 May 2007 – 10 May 2015
Preceded by	Tony Leon
Succeeded by	Mmusi Maimane
Mayor of Cape Town
In office 15 March 2006 – 30 April 2009
Preceded by	Nomaindia Mfeketo
Succeeded by	Dan Plato
Member of the National Assembly
In office 2004–2006
Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2009
In office 1999–2004
Personal details
Born	Otta Helene Zille (1951-03-09) 9 March 1951 Hillbrow, Johannesburg, Transvaal Province, Union of South Africa
Political party	Democratic Party (Before 2000) Democratic Alliance (2000–present)
Spouse	Professor Johann Maree
Children	Paul Thomas
Alma mater	University of the Witwatersrand
Website	Official website

Otta Helene "Helen" Zille (/ˈzɪlə/; born 9 March 1951) is a South African politician. She is the current Premier of the Western Cape (since 2009), a member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, the former leader of South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) political party, and a former Mayor of Cape Town.

Zille is a former journalist and anti-apartheid activist, and was one of the journalists who exposed the truth behind the death of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko while working for the Rand Daily Mail in the late 1970s. She also worked with the Black Sash and other pro-democracy groups during the 1980s. In the political arena, Zille has worked in all three tiers of government – as the Western Cape province's education MEC (1999–2004), as a Member of Parliament (2004–2006), as Mayor of Cape Town (2006–2009), and as Premier of the Western Cape (2009–present).

Zille was selected as World Mayor of the Year in 2008 - from a field of 820 candidates. She was also chosen as Newsmaker of the year 2006 by the National Press Club in July 2007, and as one of 24 former finalists in the South African Woman of the Year Award. Zille speaks English, Afrikaans, and Xhosa as well as German, the language of her parents.

Zille's later political life has been dogged by controversy - see Controversies section below.

Early life and career

Early years, education and family

Helen Zille was born in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, the eldest child of parents who separately left Germany in the 1930s to avoid Nazi persecution (her maternal grandfather and paternal grandmother were Jewish). Her father's uncle was the artist Heinrich Zille. Her mother was a volunteer with the Black Sash Advice Office. She was educated at Johannesburg's St Mary's School, Waverley while her family at the time lived in Rivonia. She studied at the University of the Witwatersrand, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree.

She married Professor Johann Maree in 1982, and they have two sons, Paul (born in 1984) and Thomas (1989). She is a member of the Rondebosch United Church in Cape Town.

Political journalism

The Rand Daily Mail story, authored by Zille, that exposed the cover-up of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko's death in police custody.

Zille began her career as a political correspondent for the Rand Daily Mail in 1974. During September 1977, Minister of Justice and the Police J.T. Kruger announced that anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko had died in prison as the result of an extended hunger strike. Zille and her editor Allister Sparks were convinced Kruger's story was a cover-up, and Zille obtained concrete proof of this after tracking down and interviewing doctors involved in the case.

The Rand Daily Mail's lead story, headlined "No sign of hunger strike—Biko doctors", sent shockwaves through South Africa. Kruger immediately threatened to ban the paper, while Zille received death threats. Zille and Sparks were represented at the subsequent quasi-judicial Press Council by leading defence lawyer Sydney Kentridge. The two were nonetheless found guilty of "tendentious reporting", and the paper was forced to issue a correction. Kentridge later helped confirm the accuracy of Zille's account when he represented the Biko family at the inquest into his death. That inquest found Biko's death had been the result of a serious head injury but failed to find any individual responsible.

Zille resigned from the Rand Daily Mail along with editor Allister Sparks, after the paper's owner, Anglo American, demanded that Sparks tone down the paper's equal rights rhetoric.

Anti-apartheid movement

Zille was heavily involved in the Black Sash movement during the 1980s. She served on the regional and national executives of the organisation, and was also vice-chair of the End Conscription Campaign in the Western Cape. During this time she was arrested for being in a "group area" without a permit, and received a suspended prison sentence. Zille and her husband later offered their home as a safe house for political activists during the 1986 State of Emergency, and she was temporarily forced into hiding with their two-year-old son. She knew and was mentored by anti-apartheid figurehead Harry Schwarz since she was a child.

Zille was also actively involved in the South Africa Beyond Apartheid Project and the Cape Town Peace Committee. She later gathered evidence for the Goldstone Commission which investigated attempts to destabilise the Western Cape before the elections in 1994.

Education policy work

Zille formed a public policy consultancy in 1989 and in 1993 she was offered the position of Director of Development and Public Affairs at the University of Cape Town. During this time Zille also chaired the governing body of Grove Primary School, and in 1996 led a successful challenge against government policy limiting governing bodies' powers to appoint staff.

Zille was then invited by the then Democratic Party to write a draft policy for Education in the Western Cape. In 1999 she became a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature, and was appointed MEC for Education.

In 2004 Zille became a Member of Parliament with the Democratic Alliance (DA). Within the DA she rose to the level of deputy federal chairperson and served as national party spokesperson and spokesperson for education.

Mayoralty

Freedom Day Rally 2011 at Solomon Mahlangu Freedom Square in Mamelodi

2006 municipal elections and aftermath

In the 2006 municipal elections, the DA became the single largest party in Cape Town with 42% of the vote, ahead of the African National Congress (ANC). Zille was elected mayor by 106 votes to 103 on 15 March 2006, after the DA obtained the support of several smaller parties.

After assuming office, Zille's multi-party government decided to revoke the appointment of the Cape Town City Manager, Wallace Mgoqi, whose term of appointment had been controversially extended by the outgoing ANC executive mayor, Nomaindia Mfeketo. Zille's decision was upheld by the High Court which ruled that the extension of Mgoqi's appointment by the previous mayor had been unlawful.

Zille has faced considerable opposition and confrontation with the ANC. In September 2006, the provincial ANC MEC Richard Dyantyi, announced he planned to replace the city's mayoral system with an executive committee. The move would have resulted in reduced mayoral power, and the governing party would not be able to assign every one of the ten seats — rather these would be allocated on a proportional representation basis. The matter was resolved, with Dyanti and Zille agreeing to retain the current mayoral system whilst the ANC was provided with two additional sub-committees in areas of the city controlled by the ANC.

Issues

Zille's commitments as mayor included Cape Town's role as a designated host city for the 2010 World Cup, as well as the construction and financing of the Cape Town Stadium, which hosted 8 FIFA World Cup football matches in 2010.

A particular concern of Zille was the problem of drug abuse in Cape Town, particularly crystal methamphetamine (tik) abuse. She called for the promotion of drug rehabilitation centres and further funding from the government to battle drug abuse, and met with local communities to discuss the issue.

Zille objected to plans to incorporate the metro police into the broader police service, arguing that such a move would remove considerable power from local government and vest more control in the hands of the National Police Commissioner at the time, Jackie Selebi, who was later convicted of corruption.

Achievements

Housing and service delivery

Though provincial rather than local government is tasked with housing delivery, Zille claimed that her municipality's efforts to reform housing lists and improve verification processes also allowed housing delivery to be increased from 3000 units per annum under the ANC, to 7000 units per annum between 2006 and 2008 under her administration as mayor.

In an article entitled "The ANC is pro-poverty not pro-poor" published shortly before the 2009 general election, Zille pointed out that under the ANC administration no budget allocation existed for upgrading informal settlements, while in 2007 her own administration set up a dedicated budget for provision of water, electricity and sanitation. In addition to maintaining existing water and electricity subsidies, Zille also raised the subsidies on the indigent database, and ensured that electricity was supplied to informal settlements that Eskom refused to electrify, such as Happy Valley and Site B Khayelitsha.

DA Leader

Helen Zille and Patricia de Lille at the DA Federal Congress, 2010.

Election

On 15 March 2007, Zille declared herself a candidate to succeed outgoing leader of the DA, Tony Leon. A favourite from the start, with backing from the Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, the Free State and even the Eastern Cape (regarded during much of the build-up as the stronghold of main rival Athol Trollip), she was elected as the new leader by a large majority on 6 May 2007. She indicated that she would lead the party from outside Parliament, while continuing in her position as executive mayor of Cape Town.

Issues

Since becoming leader of the DA, Zille has challenged the ruling government on a number of issues.

Crime

Of particular concern to Zille was the government's response to alarming crime statistics released in July 2007. She has accused the government of rewarding criminals by placing individuals convicted of serious crimes high up on their national parliamentary lists. Zille has said that the DA would reinstate child protection units, the South African Narcotics Bureau and the Scorpions unit, all of which have been disbanded.

In August 2008, Zille announced proposals to boost the size of the police force to 250 000, employ an additional 30 000 detectives, improve detention programmes and use of information technology, and radically overhaul the justice system. She also said the party's comprehensive new crime plan would include provisions for a Victims of Crime Fund.

Health

Zille warned against the controversial National Health Amendment Bill, legislation allowing greater state intervention in private health care. She warned that the state will destroy the system, that is rated as the fifth best of its kind in the world. She outlined the possibility that the Bill could drive away thousands of skilled medical professionals. Together with her political party, she proposed an alternative health plan, for the privatisation of state healthcare. The National Health Amendement Act became law in 2013, and provides for the establishment of a new Office of Health Standards Compliance.

Judicial independence

As DA leader, Zille has also frequently questioned judicial independence in South Africa, in light of the alleged behaviour of the Cape judge president John Hlophe in trying to influence the Constitutional Court judges to rule in favour of ANC president Jacob Zuma. She also cited racism directed towards those in the judiciary, and has criticised the perceived double standards vocally.

Zimbabwe

Zille publicly denounced the Zimbabwean regime, calling for former-President Thabo Mbeki to abandon his 'quiet diplomacy' policy and take a tougher stance towards the Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe. She has called for the South African president to publicly acknowledge that the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe is illegal and illegitimate; to sever all formal diplomatic ties with Zimbabwe and withdraw all diplomatic representatives; to impose smart sanctions on the Zanu-PF elite, including travel bans to South Africa and the freezing of all South African assets linked to Mugabe and Zanu-PF; and to lobby for the suspension of Zimbabwe from the United Nations, the African Union and the South African Development Community.

Political debate

In June 2008, she challenged the president of the ANC and the 2009 presidential candidate, Jacob Zuma to a public debate on ten key issues such as the arms deal, disbanding of the Scorpions, the situation in Zimbabwe, HIV/Aids and labour legislation. Zuma declined to participate.

Campaign against drug and alcohol abuse

Eight members of a group called the People's Anti-Drug and Liquor Action Committee (PADLAC) were arrested in September 2007 outside the Mitchell's Plain police station. Zille was then arrested when she visited the police station to investigate. The group had been distributing pamphlets in the campaign against the abuse of alcohol and drugs in Cape Town. Police alleged that she supported vigilante groups opposed to drug abuse. She appeared in the Mitchell's Plain Magistrates Court later that week for contravening the Regulation of Gatherings Act. Zille was expected to sue the Minister of Police for wrongful arrest. Zille subsequently appeared briefly before the Mitchell's Plain Magistrates Court together with a group of ten persons who had been arrested with her.

On 30 September 2007 it was reported that senior intelligence sources, who were apparently unhappy with the ANC's plans to subvert state institutions to do ANC bidding, had leaked information to Zille that operatives with weapons were infiltrating PADLAC with the ultimate objective of bringing down the leader of the opposition. In October 2007, Zille was acquitted of all charges brought before the Mitchell's Plain Magistrates Court on the grounds that the prosecution's case against her and nine other defendants did not stand a chance of succeeding. Zille reiterated her intention to sue the South African Police Services (SAPS) branch in the Western Cape for wrongful arrest.

In March 2008, Helen Zille took her anti-drugs campaign to Johannesburg, leading a protest march. Marchers wore DA T-shirts, bearing the message No to drugs and save our children.

It is not clear that Zille's activities have had any particular impact on problems of crime and substance abuse in the Western Cape. The latest crime statistics suggest that the Western Cape is responsible for 34% of drug-related crime in South Africa.

United Nations

In April 2008, Zille was asked to address the UN in New York on population and development, offering her experience and lessons as mayor of Cape Town.

World Mayor award

Zille was nominated as one of 820 world mayors and was winner of the 2008 World Mayor award in October 2008.

Helen Zille is a passionate and very hard-working mayor who has stood up to enormous bullying to push for improved service delivery in her city. — www.worldmayor.com

There was controversy when the ruling ANC used its majority in the National Assembly to block (without notice) a motion by the DA acknowledging Zille's achievement in winning the 2008 World Mayor award.

Resignation as Party Leader

In April 2014, Zille announced that she would not be standing for re-election as party leader.

Premier of the Western Cape

Zille meeting British Foreign Office Minister Mark Simmonds in London in 2012

2009 election

The 2009 general elections presented Zille with her first major electoral contest as leader of the DA. She was selected as candidate for Premier of the Western Cape, and her party succeeded in winning a 51.23 percent of the province's vote. Zille was installed as Premier, and replaced as mayor by Dan Plato. Nationally, the DA gained significant ground as official opposition, winning 16.66 percent of the vote, and increasing its tally of seats in both houses of Parliament to 77.

Row with Jacob Zuma

In May 2009, shortly after being elected Premier, Zille wrote a letter to the Cape Argus newspaper that was accidentally copied by her spokesperson to the Sowetan newspaper. Responding to criticism from gender lobby groups and the ANC over her all-male provincial cabinet, Zille stated in the letter that the ANC had never even been led by a woman, and that its leaders set bad examples on gender issues. She cited South African President Jacob Zuma's "deeply sexist views", accused him of being a "womaniser", and condemned him for putting "all his wives at risk of contracting HIV" by having unprotected sex with an HIV positive woman. Zuma, a polygamist, admitted in his rape trial that he had known that the woman with whom he had had sex was HIV positive.

Zille's condemnation of Zuma's behaviour was then used by the Sowetan as the basis of a front page story entitled "Zuma an AIDS risk". The paper stated that Zille had "launched an extraordinary new attack" on Zuma. This heralded a wave of attacks on Zille from both the ANC and a number of its alliance partners. The ANC Youth League claimed Zille was racist, and that her all-male cabinet consisted of "boyfriends and concubines so that she can continue to sleep around with them". The claim, made without substantiation, drew the ire of the DA, who consulted with their lawyers over a possible defamation suit. The Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association restated the Youth League's sex claims, and warned it would launch "a political programme aimed at rendering the Western Cape ungovernable". The ANC also criticised Zille, but distanced itself from the remarks of its Youth League, stating that they were "deeply embarrassing". In response, Zille claimed that the whole row exemplified South Africa's warped approach to gender issues.

Land dispute

In May 2009, Zille accused the ANC of asset stripping. She related to the transfer of 1 000 hectares of provincial land in the Western Cape to a national body. The transfer was signed off by the former premier Lynne Brown on 21 April 2009, the day before the national elections. Zille alleged that the deal was done "secretly, in bad faith and with an ulterior motive". The ANC responded by claiming that the land deal had been publicly tabled in Parliament several times over the years and there was nothing sinister about it. Zille later said that she would call for a review and rescindment of the agreement and would lodge a dispute at an intergovernmental relations meeting, but the matter was resolved in January 2010, when the ANC's Minister of Human Settlements, Tokyo Sexwale, agreed to return the land to the province before the matter could be taken to court.

2014 election and re-election

Following the 2014 general elections, the DA won 59.38% of the vote and 26 seats in the Western Cape provincial legislature, an increase of 3.25%. Under her leadership, the party also won 89 seats in the National Assembly and 22.23% of the National vote. Zille was sworn-in to a second term on 26 May with 27 votes out of 42, her opponent being Marius Fransman of the ANC.

Controversies

Criminalisation of deliberately spreading HIV with multiple partners

While addressing a wellness summit hosted by the Western Cape Health department, Zille had called for irresponsible men who refused to use condoms and had multiple sexual partners, to be charged with attempted murder, and for Government to shift its focus from the treatment to the prevention of diseases. Some AIDS activists warned against such a move, arguing that this would provide an incentive for people not to get tested for HIV, and called Zille's remarks "careless and misleading." Among those who criticized Zille's position were the Constitutional Law scholar Pierre de Vos. and prominent AIDS activist and director of Section 27, Mark Heywood.

'Refugees' from Eastern Cape

In 2012 Zille was embroiled in controversy after labelling people who moved from the Eastern Cape to the Western Cape as 'refugees', even upsetting senior people in her own party.

30% Target for 2014 Elections

The DA set a public target of reaching a 30% vote in the national election. When it became clear that this would not be achieved, the DA back-tracked on this target, and started to suggest that this was never a target in the first place. Zille was even accused of lying about the matter.

Failed Merger with Agang

As DA Party Leader, Zille presided over a failed attempt to merge with opposition party Agang, then led by Mamphela Ramphele. After announcing the merger, and Zille famously kissing Ramphele at the news conference, the merger fell apart within days after it was opposed by Agang members and also by senior figures within the DA. There were suggestions in the media, admitted in part by Zille, that a foreign donor to the DA had encouraged the merger.

Dianne Kohler Barnard

In October 2015 Zille weighed in on the controversy in which DA Shadow Police Minister Dianne Kohler Barnard controversially shared a post on her Facebook page that appeared to show appreciation for life under former apartheid President PW Botha. Zille, no longer DA party leader, was seemingly the first to instruct Kohler Barnard (via Twitter) to withdraw the post and apologise, following which Kohler Barnard deleted the post and apologised unreservedly. Zille subsequently deleted the tweet from her Twitter profile. Zille's involvement has led critics to suggest that Zille is still calling the shots behind the scenes, despite no longer being party leader.

Conviction and Jailing of DA member King Dalindyebo

In 2013, when Zille was DA party leader, the DA recruited Thembu King Dalindyebo to join the party, despite the fact that he had been convicted in the High Court of various crimes including arson, kidnapping and culpable homicide, and at the time he shared the stage with Zille, Mmusi Maimane and other party leaders. The perception exists that he was recruited on the basis that he could bring votes to the DA in the Eastern Cape. In October 2015 Dalindyebo was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and his membership of the DA was terminated. Gareth van Onselen gives a detailed account, which includes reference to Zille's role in the whole affair.

Zille - Lennit Max

In December 2015 another internal controversy erupted within the DA, this time between Helen Zille and Lennit Max, which is the subject of a DA investigation. Essentially a war of words between the two with accusation and counter-accusation about spying, allocation of posts and so on.

External links

• Helen Zille winner of the 2008 World Mayor Prize
• Helen Zille's blog
• Helen Zille's interactive social media profile at Zoopy.com
• City Mayors profile
• City Mayors profile Español
• Quotes about Cape Town's mayoral system
• Zille voted Newsmaker of the year
• CapeInfo interview with Helen Zille
• Interview with Helen Zille at metkere.com