The DA's attempt to re-brand itself must be seen for what it is: the opportunism of an elite that knows it cannot expand its power without black votes.

The DA's attempt to re-brand itself must be seen for what it is: the opportunism of an elite that knows it cannot expand its power without black votes.

It says we must transcend race, but the DA refuses to acknowledge black dispossession, suffering and under-development under apartheid. It refuses to admit that apartheid destroyed the lives of millions for the benefit of a few. Why shy away from this reality?

The DA pretends that the past did not exist or that we must "transcend" it. Very convenient, when a few benefitted at the expense of 90 percent, to say, forget the past and focus on equal opportunity. The DA is a party of and for whites, protecting the gains and spoils of apartheid. Zille rules over the most racist city in the country. As a black living here, most black people I know feel alienated here. It is a playground for whites and the rich. There is no city in Africa where the class divide is starker. White arrogance and privilege is the norm. Zille, like all whites, is an apartheid beneficiary and continues to enjoy the fruits of apartheid. She has done nothing to empower blacks because it means taking a little away from her rich white voters. Don't be fooled by Zille speaking a little isiXhosa or by her ridiculous attempts to model the DA's campaign on Barack Obama's.

Mohammed S, Cape Town