Why I Left the PA

Statement by Liam Jacobs – DA Member:

Many will ask, “Why come back now?” “You are a flip-flopper”, and so on.

Well, the fact is: I should NEVER have left the DA in the first place.

I believed Gayton. I believed the PA promises. I personally saw that I was misled by lies. I admit, I made a mistake.

In June 2025, I left the DA in a manner that disrespected the organisation that went to great lengths to invest in my development. I followed it up with statements on social media that caused great harm to the very people who extended their trust and support to me. My departure was disgraceful.

Despite this, I am deeply aware of what the DA has done for me.

It was the DA who took a young activist from the Northern Cape, developed him in Gauteng, and seated him in the National Assembly at only twenty-three years of age. The DA believed in my potential.

I wholeheartedly apologise to DA voters, leadership, public reps, activists and staff for causing harm to the party, leaving in such a distasteful manner and for the lack of gratitude I showed towards the DA. I do not expect forgiveness immediately. I understand that trust must be earned again, and I am committed to rebuilding it through my actions.

As the months rolled on during my time at the PA, I saw behind the curtain. I witnessed the culture, the people and the focus of a party that explicitly contravenes my values.

I reflected on who I was as a person and what I want to contribute to society. During this period of reflection, I realised that the DA is the party my values align with. It is the only party that has the track record and capability of uniting the country and actually working for its citizens.

Last week’s historic by-election win by the DA of a township ward in Emfuleni, shows that the DA is a party that is not driven by slogans en lekker tye, but by the values and vision of delivering for all South Africans.

When Gayton McKenzie offered me a return to Parliament, my values could not allow me to return as a PA MP.

I could not, in good conscience, serve the people of South Africa whilst being in the vehicle of the Patriotic Alliance (PA).

Let me be specific:

1) The PA-ANC:

The PA has sold out its voters to the ANC. It is an uncritical supporter, a cheerleader in fact. Both in parliament and in public. The ANC’s corruption destroys lives and robs futures. Yet, no matter what ANC corruption is exposed, the PA never holds them to account.

The DA, however, is unafraid to hold the ANC accountable. It speaks out openly when it disagrees and uses its role in the GNU to apply pressure. It takes to the streets and the courts, to stand for what is right. Just as it stopped the VAT hike, when the DA wins, the people win.

2) Instruction to defend Fadiel Adams

Coloureds are not criminals. Criminal culture is not coloured culture. However, in the PA, we were instructed to defend Mr Fadiel Adams, saying that he was arrested because he was coloured. This is false, the allegations against Adams are his own, and he must answer for his actions. His decisions are not a reflection of the coloured community. The PA thinks all coloured people are the same, we are not. We have a rich, diverse culture. We are a diverse people who love this country and want to build a better life for our children.

The DA is built on non-racialism. They see us as individuals who must be judged on our merit and mistakes, not on our skin colour.

3) Xenophobia

The DA believes in securing our borders. Illegal immigration has brought chaos and disorder to South Africa and the full implementation of the rule of law must happen now, upholding South Africa’s sovereignty and respecting rights and human dignity.

The PA’s rhetoric, on the other hand, is violent, not rooted in the rule of law, and has led to confrontational behaviour that I fear could incite further violence. That is a line I refuse to cross.

4) No governance structure within the PA

Decisions in the PA are made by one man. No one is elected. There is no democracy and everything is centralised, with no internal structures of accountability or collective wisdom. No checks or balances. There are no meaningful systems to build policy, do oversight, train or build the institutional depth that the work of government requires. Parties or governments cannot be run by live stream either.

My time in the DA showed me their well-oiled machine. Structures are elected regularly. Ideas are debated. Public reps and activists are held to account based on the DA’s constitution, with fairness and equality, but are given a fair opportunity to correct their mistakes.

The PA operates in a space of anarchy. It disciplines via Facebook lives and social media.

The DA has a track record of good governance, but where the PA governs, people are put last, things collapse and promises are never kept.

5) Cadre deployment

It is my observation that there is a worrying trend of appointments within the Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture. It is worrisome to see so many PA-aligned figures/members show up as board members, performers at events, and linked to events under the Mzansi Golden Economy. What happened to merit? This is a continuation of Zuma-era politics that defined South Africa’s worst years. I refuse to play a part in the capture of our institutions. The PA strives to be what the ANC is: a buddy-buddy system.

The DA, however, rejects cadre deployment because it undermines merit-based hiring and weakens state institutions by prioritising personal loyalty over competence and commitment to the republic. Just like the DA, I believe it should be our hard work, skills and effort that gets us ahead in life.

I thought the PA was the answer, but I realised it was not.

I return to the party not as a public rep, but as an activist, with my conscience intact, committed to working hard every day to stop anyone else from making the same mistake.

I am committed to unseating the ANC and its green proxies and helping ensure that the DA becomes the largest party in South Africa to continue delivering for all.

It is good to be home…

I invite you all to join me in the DA family.