Geordin Hill-Lewis shares insights on his successful DA leadership strategy
Geordin Hill-Lewis, the newly appointed Federal Leader of the DA, has expressed contentment regarding the functionality of his leadership framework.
This structure incorporates George Michalakis as the parliamentary leader and Minister Leon Schreiber among the team members serving in the Cabinet.
When Hill-Lewis became party leader in April, he shared how he intended to lead the party without having Cabinet ministers undermine their responsibilities.
Hill-Lewis said: “Yes, I’m very respectful of that. That’s why I had to have Leon (Schreiber), as I call him, the kind of captain on the field because he’s in the Cabinet room, and so I will never expect anyone to cross any ethical or legal boundaries, and so what is clear is this is our strategic mandate.
“This is what we expect of our ministers. They need to go and deliver the DA’s difference there. It must be clear and unambiguous that these people are trying to take South Africa in a new and better direction.”
When asked if he is not outsourcing power, he added: “The key thing is the strategic intent, the strategic direction, which is set by the leader and the leadership, and that is what is absolutely clear. We’ll liaise on that constantly, as we do already every single day this week, and last week, but the minutiae of the running of the State and Cabinet, Leon is capable of showing leadership on that front.”
Schreiber will not be the only person on hand to manage the Cabinet ministers, as the DA has also appointed strategist Ryan Coetzee.
Hill-Lewis, who was speaking on the sidelines of the DA’s voter registration campaign in the Western Cape, said that in the little over a month since then, he has been happy with how they have been operating.
“Yes, very much. I think they really are doing some great foundational work, getting to understand the major issues in each of those portfolios, getting to understand how we should be properly showing the DA difference in each of those portfolios.
“You’re starting to see some of that work filtering through into what those ministers are working on, what those deputy ministers are working on, and we’ll see much more of that in the weeks and months ahead.”
Regarding the upcoming 2026 local government and subsequent national elections, Michalakis emphasised that his primary responsibility is ensuring parliamentary alignment with the federal leader’s objectives.
He highlighted the importance of internal cohesion, stating: “…it is my task to ensure that not only do we align from a parliamentary side with the federal leader, but that we also align with both our objectives in the coming two elections… but also make sure that we align with our colleagues in the provinces and on a local level as well.”
Drawing on his previous experience as the coordinator for all MPLs across the nine provinces and Parliament, he noted: “I’ve done so before… but I think communication, effective communication between the different structures in the party is going to be absolutely key.”
