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Dan Plato ditches DA over policies and Palestine, joins Marius Fransman’s new party

Dan Plato ditches DA over policies and Palestine, joins Marius Fransman’s new party
Dan Plato and Marius Fransman at the People’s Movement For Change media briefing at Waves Theatre Café in Cape Town on 13 February 2024. (Photo: Gallo Images / Misha Jordaan)
Velani Ludidi
By Velani Ludidi
13 Feb 2024
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A seasoned politician with two stints as Cape Town mayor, Dan Plato has left the DA to join Marius Fransman’s new party.

Former Cape Town mayor and MEC for community safety, Dan Plato, has left the DA to join the new kids on the block, the People’s Movement for Change (PMC). 

Former ANC Western Cape leader Marius Fransman leads the PMC, which last month announced it would be contesting the upcoming general elections.

dan plato fransman pmc Dan Plato (standing, left) and Marius Fransman (standing, right) at the People’s Movement For Change media briefing at Waves Theatre Café in Cape Town on 13 February 2024. (Photo: Gallo Images / Misha Jordaan)



The party recently welcomed well-travelled politician Sammy Claassen to its fold. Claassen is also a former DA member who has spent time with the Patriotic Alliance and the Good Party.



Plato served as Cape Town’s mayor from 2009 to 2011 and returned for a second stint from 2018 to 2021. At the time of his resignation, he was a member of the Western Cape legislature for the DA. He is also a former National Party councillor.

Plato first served as Cape Town mayor when he took the reins from Helen Zille after she moved to the premiership of the Western Cape. The second occasion was in 2018, after the chaotic departure of Patricia de Lille.

At the time Fransman led the provincial ANC, he accused Plato in 2013 of having links to gang bosses while he was serving as MEC of safety and security.

‘DA has changed’


On Tuesday, Fransman announced that Plato would join his new party, with another seasoned politician formerly from the DA, Ayesha Abrahams.

In a PMC statement, Plato said he had decided to part ways with the DA, citing concerns about the party’s departure from its original mandate to champion the interests of the poor and working class.

“The DA has moved away from its commitment to serving the needs of the most vulnerable in our society. The party seems to be stifling voices that do not align with a certain cabal, and critical outreach programmes designed to benefit the poor are being cancelled in the City of Cape Town and Western Cape government.”

Plato further expressed disappointment with the DA over its stance on Israel’s war in Gaza.

“The DA’s suppression of pro-Palestine voices within the party is deeply troubling. This stifling of diverse opinions not only contradicts the principles of justice and equality. As someone dedicated to upholding the rights of all, I believe in fostering open dialogue on critical global issues, and the DA’s current stance on the Palestinian question is incompatible with those values.”

Rumours of Plato’s resignation began making the rounds on Tuesday morning with DA insiders saying the party had decided not to include him on the party list to return to the provincial legislature after the upcoming elections.

Plato’s resignation comes after several high-profile members left the party, including Ghaleb Cachalia and Khume Ramulifho.

DA leader John Steenhuisen has dismissed the resignations as “silly season”.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Ramulifho ditches DA, citing critical party inconsistencies, and sets sail with Rise Mzansi

Party lists


Plato initially butted heads with DA leaders when they refused to appoint him as mayor of Cape Town in 2021. DA insiders say the 63-year-old was asked not to contest the mayoral candidate position and instead take up a seat in the provincial legislature, which he declined.

He lost the internal contest to the current mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis. 

Plato argued that during his two terms as mayor, he was a caretaker mayor who came into office during the middle of a term. He said he wanted a full term to carry out his vision for the city.

After losing the contest, and with the backing of some senior DA members, Plato made his way to the provincial legislature to fill the seat left by Bonginkosi Madikizela who resigned after a Daily Maverick probe revealed that he did not have a BCom degree, as he claimed. 

Now, with elections around the corner, DA insiders say Plato was aware that he would not make the party list to return to the provincial legislature.

He denied this when asked for comment, saying party lists were not yet public information.

DA Western Cape leader Tertuis Simmers said the party accepted Plato’s resignation. 

“We thank him for his years of service, both to the DA and at different levels of government. We wish him well in his endeavours.”

PMC builds line-up


Fransman was delighted to welcome Plato, saying the PMC was the right home for him since the party “unapologetically advocates for a free and liberated Palestine”.

“Dan’s commitment to social justice aligns seamlessly with our values and we look forward to working together to put people at the centre of power.”

PMC could be a serious contender in the upcoming elections, especially in the Western Cape. Nceba Enge, the Western Cape deputy chairperson of the SA National Taxi Council, serves as the party’s secretary-general.

Enge was a member of the Alliance for Transformation for All (ATA), a political organisation founded in 2018 to lobby for the interests of the taxi industry. The ATA failed to gain any seats in the 2019 general elections.

The PMC also has Apostle Moosa Joshua Mohlala as one of its leaders. He is an influential pastor in Cape Town townships and the party’s second deputy president. Mohlala was flirting with the EFF before emerging as a PMC member. DM

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