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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAPE TOWN 000039 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2020 
TAGS: KDEM PREL SF
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR GIPS MEETS WITH ATHOL TROLLIP, 
PARLIAMENTARY LEADER OF THE DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE 
 
Classified By: Consul General Alberta Mayberry for reasons 1.4 (b) and 
(d). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary.  On February 12, Ambassador Gips met with 
Athol Trollip, Parliamentary leader of the Democratic 
Alliance (DA), the main opposition party in Parliament,  to 
discuss USG programs and cooperation.    Also in attendance 
were Political Counselor, Cape Town CG, and Cape Town Poloff. 
 Trollip described the U.S. as the most important country in 
the world, but noted that China is rapidly becoming another 
super power.  He also noted that he would like to improve 
relations between the USG and the DA, which is also the 
ruling party in the Western Cape Province.  Trollip also 
discussed the ANC, Zuma, and the recent State of the Nation 
address as well as the DA,s plan to win two more 
municipalities in next year,s election.  Throughout the 
course of the meeting, Trollip stressed the desire for the DA 
to meet with its U.S. counterparts as well as with U.S. 
companies, which Ambassador Gips was happy to help 
facilitate.   End summary. 
 
¶2.  (C )  On February 12, Ambassador Gips met with Athol 
Trollip, Parliamentary leader of the Democratic Alliance to 
discuss USG programs and cooperation.   Trollip began the 
meeting by saying the U.S is the most important country in 
the world, although he noted that China is rapidly becoming 
the other world super power.  Trollip noted his concern that 
the USG and the GOC both have good relations with the SAG, 
but noted that neither had good relations with the Western 
Cape leadership.  He said he looks forward to building those 
relations and wants to have a formal engagement with the USG. 
 He noted his dissatisfaction with the Chinese who work with 
the  ANC on a party-to-party basis, not through the 
government.  He asked Ambassador Gips how the DA can work 
more closely with the USG, specifically mentioning that the 
DA would benefit from training and exchanges with U.S. 
legislators, noting that he personally would like to meet 
with someone from the Democratic Party. 
¶3.  (C) Trollip noted that the DA is a party for all people 
and said there is no other party with as much ethnic 
diversity in its caucus as the DA.  In the April 09 election, 
Trollip said &COPE (the second largest opposition party) 
took the 6.5 percent of the vote that the DA was expecting to 
receive due to racial identity problems.8 ( Comment. COPE is 
a breakaway party from the ANC and has a largely black 
membership, whereas the DA,s electoral base is mostly from 
the white and mixed race communities.  End comment.)   He 
argued that Africans often feel obliged to vote for the ANC 
because of the ANC,s role in the liberation movement. 
¶4. (C ) Trollip  noted his dissatisfaction that President 
Zuma refuses to reign in the head of the ANC Youth League, 
Julius Malema.  Trollip said he likes both Ministers in the 
Presidency, Trevor Manuel and Collins Chabane, and thinks 
their  new Planning Commission and Monitoring and Evaluation 
portfolios are  a good idea, and  hopes that the Ministers 
will be able to roll out their plans soon.  Trollip also 
hopes Chabane,s plan will work and that Zuma will back him. 
Trollip also said that he believes Manuel, who is the best 
mind in the ANC, is not happy in the party and noted that the 
current leader of the DA, Helen Zille, would give Manuel the 
DA party leadership if Manuel were to jump ship. 
¶5. (C) Trollip also said, &if Zuma is dumb enough not to 
realize that his State of the Nation Address said nothing, 
either the ANC is setting him up or he has poor advisors.8 
Qeither the ANC is setting him up or he has poor advisors.8 
Trollip also said that he spoke to Kader Asmal (a former ANC 
Minister under Mandela) after the State of the Nation 
Address, and Asmal said the mood in Parliament was very 
subdued and noted this was the first time in fifteen years 
that the gallery did not erupt into singing or dancing upon 
the entrance of the President.  Trollip also said that he met 
with Reverend Dandala, the leader of COPE, after Zuma 
presented the State of the Nation address and that COPE 
intended to present a Motion of No Confidence against Zuma 
due to his personal behavior, focusing on the fact that Zuma 
recently fathered another illegitimate child.  Trollip noted 
that Dandala approached the DA to support the Motion and that 
the DA agreed, noting that if the DA had brought the Motion, 
it would be considered racist. 
¶6. (U) Trollip told Emboffs that the DA will not attack the 
President directly and will not mention the recent scandals 
in his personal life, but will attack him on the basis of 
what was included (or more appropriately not included)  in 
the State of the Nation address.  Trollip noted that because 
the DA only has 17 percent of the seats in Parliament, it 
needs to be focused all the time.  The DA wants to focus on 
opportunity issues such as pot holes and faulty traffic 
lights*issues that can be more readily solved. 
¶7. (SBU) Trollip said that the DA hopes to win two more 
metropolitan areas in the upcoming local elections, Port 
Elizabeth and Tshwane (which includes Pretoria).  He thought 
such a goal was achievable, particularly if  the DA worked 
 
CAPE TOWN 00000039  002 OF 002 
 
 
with COPE to put together coalitions. He noted that the worst 
run municipality in the Eastern Cape is the one with the 
largest ANC majority.  He believes the DA will continue to do 
well in the Western Cape. 
¶8. (U) Trollip described the DA,s young leadership program 
which gives two groups of 20 young people a full year of 
classes.  He said that he would like to talk to someone in 
the Democratic Party about what they do to train their young 
democrats.  Trollip noted that he participated in two 
National Council of State Legislator programs in the U.S. and 
greatly benefitted from them.  Trollip said that the DA,s 
senior party caucus wants to go to the U.S  to meet with 
senior U.S. leaders and U.S. businesses that are interested 
in investing in South Africa, but noted that the DA cannot 
afford to pay for the trip on their own and is seeking 
funding from outside sources.  He also noted that he would 
like to meet with American Chamber of Commerce 
representatives in South Africa and the US-SA Business 
Council, which is managed by Corporate Council on Africa. 
Furthermore, he said that is happy to meet visiting 
Congressional delegations to South Africa.  He also noted 
that, &it is fundamentally important for President Obama to 
succeed.8 
MAYBERRY