Rodgers says he won’t be standing as DA’s KZN leader for third term

After two terms as the Democratic Alliance (DA)’s KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) leader, Francois Rodgers said he won’t be standing for a third term.

The 64-year-old said that he wants to make space for younger party members as he enters what he described as the twilight years of his political career.

Rodgers was speaking to EWN ahead of the DA’s provincial elective congress due to take place in 2026.

Rodgers began his political career as a DA councillor in the small town of Kokstad, southwest of KZN.

He rose through the party’s ranks, serving in Parliament before becoming the DA’s provincial leader in 2021.

Under Rodgers’s leadership, the DA entered the KZN provincial government for the first time, forming a coalition with its longtime political foe, the African National Congress (ANC), and two other parties.

“There is a time in one’s life where you need to look and create opportunities for younger people - new ideas, new talent, new vision - and I think that time has come for me. I still have business interests, and it’s a lot less stressful running your business than having the MK Party as an opposition.”

On the governance side, Rodgers said that he intends to remain the MEC for finance until the end of his term in 2029.