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- DA MP Phumzile van Damme is refusing to take a three-month sabbatical for health reasons after party leader John Steenhuisen told him to do so.
- Van Damme says he suffers from a functional neurological disorder, has debilitating symptoms, and is incurable.
- Van Damme supported Mbali Ntuli as the leader of the match against Steenhuisen.
DA leader John Steenhuisen has been accused of using fellow MP Phumzile van Damme’s illness to sideline her.
Steenhuisen has extended Van Damme’s three months of sick leave by another three, saying he is concerned about his health.
Van Damme tweeted late Friday that Steenhuisen “simply” informed him that he was granting him a sabbatical.
“I didn’t request it,” he tweeted. “He just informed me. I could leave, but I choose to stay and challenge him ABOUT THE BEGINNING.”
I have been informed by the federal leader of the DA @jsteenhuisen granting me a sabbatical year. I did not request it. It just informed me. I could walk away, but I choose to stay and challenge him ABOVE THE BEGINNING.
– Phumzile Van Damme (@zilevandamme) December 4, 2020
She claims that she has been open about her illness and has already been on leave for three months, focusing on the work of her parliamentary committee during that time.
Your sick leave will end on December 15.
“Did I drop the ball when I was sick? No. Even when I was sick, as I do when I am well, did I continue to outperform many of my colleagues? Yes. I did not ask for a sabbatical,” she tweeted, saying that she and her doctors they were responsible for determining his health, not his employer.
READ | John Steenhuisen elected new DA leader
In a letter to Van Damme on Friday, Steenhuisen said he would grant him a three-month sabbatical from all parliamentary responsibilities, ending on March 30 of the next year, to allow him to focus on his health and ensure he receives the “treatment needed, rest and rehabilitation without the distraction of added stress and responsibility. “
Steenhuisen wrote:
“I remain deeply concerned about his health situation and the four chronic diseases that he has been diagnosed with. I understand that they have become incredibly debilitating for him to perform daily functions, such as walking, due to chronic pain, vertigo, and dizziness. I also know that he needs periods. significant signs of bed rest “.
He said that because December and January are fairly quiet periods on the parliamentary agenda, it would be “an opportune time for this sabbatical.”
He said, although he understood that she was passionate about her work, “I would be failing in my duty as a leader if I did not take into account the pain and challenges you are experiencing and step in to ensure that you focus on improving.” .
He told News24: “I had to make changes to my shadow cabinet after my election, having inherited a shadow cabinet that I did not name. It is the leader’s prerogative to do so and has been exercised by all DA leaders.
“This is a decision made in consultation with the caucus leadership and with Ms. Van Damme’s best interests in mind, I regret that I am trying to represent him otherwise.”
Candidacy
Van Damme, who did not endorse Steenhuisen’s candidacy for DA leader before the party’s election conference in late October, tweeted after the conference that there are sometimes discussions among party leaders.
“This is not the city of Pleasantville,” he tweeted, but added that he would work with Steenhuisen to pursue the common values held by DA leaders.
Van Damme had also had heated arguments with former party leader Helen Zille, whom he tweeted that he had nothing to do with the decision on his license.
“HZ and I disagree, then we meet and work it out as adults,” he shared in a tweet.
Earlier this week, she responded to someone who completely embarrassed her on Twitter, saying this was due to her medical condition, a functional neurological disorder, making it difficult for her to walk or exercise, and increasing her stress and anxiety. levels.
He said there is no cure for the condition, but that it goes into remission sometimes.
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