Johannesburg - Former DA leader Mmusi Maimane says he is not done with politics.



Maimane, who was being interviewed on eNCA, said he has not abandoned his beliefs in creating a non-racial South Africa.



The former DA leader resigned from heading the opposition party last month after describing the DA as not what he believed was the best vehicle in attaining his goals of a non-racial country.



He said he held no bitterness towards the DA and was not concerned about the current leadership elections. The party’s federal executive council will meet this weekend to elect an interim leader.

John Steenhuisen, who leads the party in Parliament, and DA Gauteng member of the provincial legislature Makashule Gana will be the two contenders in the race.



Maimane reiterated that the brewing tension within the DA about the party’s approach to race and racial injustice had been hard for him.



“As an outcome of the election and if you look at the electoral results in May this year, it became clear that our country was fraught with racial polarisation. It became clear that a few South Africans happen to not want a project of a reconciled South Africa that redresses historical injustices. It so happens that some found themselves in an institute and some were found within the DA. It is those individuals, over a period of time, made leading the organisation harder,” he said.



He said he has not given up on his mission of a South Africa he imagines. He said what the country needed now was political reform and economic reform.



“Does that mean I am giving up on the fight? Not at all. I think it is a journey I will continue to fight. I believe that non-racialism is the future of our nation and is something I will continue to fight for. I hold no bitterness to anyone in the DA. I have no concern about what happens to its current leadership formulation,” he said.



“We need to get back to where citizens own their nation and hold their politicians to account. That is why electoral reform is needed. My contribution is to be able to get back to that mission. We need a new coalition and a new vehicle. I have been engaging different factors in society. The system we have now does not work and in time we will be able to communicate what the future should look like.”