DA leadership battle: Qualifications of John Steenhuisen vs Makashule Gana

By Sunday afternoon, we should know which senior figure in the DA will be appointed as the official interim leader. John Steenhuisen is battling it out with Makashule Gana for the role, and whoever is elected will lead the party into their 2020 Federal Council – and possibly beyond.

When will the DA choose their new leader?

Whoever wins this crucial vote will effectively become the next permanent DA leader, too. That’s barring a huge upset in the next six months, but as we’ve learned recently from the Blues, anything is possible. We are expecting the results on the interim leadership battle to be revealed just after 14:00 on Sunday.

We’ve put together a quick summary of the finalists, and seeing as the public have a morbid fascination with politicians and their qualifications, we’ve put them on display as well. Here’s what you need to know about John Steenhuisen and Makashule Gana:

John Steenhuisen vs Makashule Gana – essential knowledge:

Qualifications of John Steenhuisen

Infamously, John Steenhuisen never actually achieved a university degree. Although he passed his matric exams at Northwood Boys High School in Durban and attended the London School of Economics (to study political science, no less) the prospective opposition leader never attained the “holy grail” of education. He told Parliament in November 2018:

“I don’t have a university degree, I have never pretended to. I also enrolled for a BA in politics and law at Unisa in 1994, however – like many South Africans – I never finished it due to financial and work pressures. I am not ashamed of this.”

John Steenhuisen

However, what the DA stalwart lacks in tertiary education, he makes up for in experience. He’s been a politician since the age of 22, and first began work at the Durban City Council when he was elected in 1999. Steenhuisen went on to become the DA’s caucus leader in eThekwini, serving on its executive council.

He was elected to the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature in 2009, become the party’s provincial leader. Two years later, he was elevated to the National Assembly and eventually became the DA’s Parliamentary Chief Whip, and most recently, their Parliamentary leader.

Work history and previous jobs of Makashule Gana

The 35-year-old Gana currently serves as a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature for the DA, having assumed office on 15 November 2016. He was born in Tzaneen, Limpopo.

He was elected to Parliament in 2014, where he served as Shadow Minister of Human Settlements. Two years later, Gana stepped down as Shadow Minister when he assumed office as MPL Gauteng. He’s also had stints as a Deputy Federal Chairperson and as Gauteng South’s Youth Leader in the DA

He enrolled for his undergraduate degree at the University of Limpopo (formerly known as the University of the North) back in 2000. He achieved a Bachelor of Science Degree three years later, majoring in mathematics and computer science. In 2012, Gana graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from Wits Business School.