STRAIGHT TALK: February is the month to fight EWC

The ANC is trying to sneak expropriation without compensation (EWC) through as a benign tool of transformation. Make no mistake, it’s a potent weapon in a kleptocracy’s arsenal to subjugate and steal from the people of South Africa.

Yesterday in parliament the opposition successfully compelled the government to extend the closing date for objections to its Section 25 Amendment Bill (to enable EWC) from 31 Jan 2020 to 29 Feb 2020. This means we can unite and fight EWC for a month or suffer its consequences for decades.

The only way a successful society can operate is on the basis of secure private property rights and the rule of law. Anyone who cannot see that these core values are now at stake is frankly naïve. The EWC bill proposes cutting out the courts by transferring decision-making control around which property can be expropriated, and at what price, from the judiciary to the state. At the stroke of a minister’s pen, our title deeds could become worthless.

Amending the Constitution and legislation to give the state unchecked power to grab land and other property is a very, very bad idea. We all need to grasp the depth and scale of the risk and act swiftly. Zimbabwe’s story could be South Africa’s too if we don’t act en masse during the month of February. Hindsight is the best source of insight: we either learn from Zimbabwe’s path, or we follow it.

The state can be legally compelled to act in the national interest if society expresses its interest loudly enough in a public participation process. So, there are four actions I urge you to take during the month of February: 1) write an objection and email it to section25@parliament.gov.za; 2) sign the DA’s petition against EWC; 3) put pressure on your bank or home loan provider to object to EWC; and 4) get others in your community to do the same.

The ANC claims the purpose of EWC is to enable and accelerate land reform. But the real objective is to bring all land under state custodianship and control, to be used as a patronage tool to shore up its power and secure its access to public resources. Only the very naïve could believe otherwise.

Consider the case of David Rakgase, a poor, 78-year old, black Limpopo farmer who has had to take the state to court to compel it to sell him the land he has leased and farmed for over two decades. He won, and the state abandoned its appeal in favour of contravening the court’s judgement by offering to sell it to him at 9 times the price instructed by the court.

EWC will undermine confidence in title deeds and investment. Far from being pro-poor, EWC will be profoundly anti-poor as agricultural investment dwindles, land becomes unproductive, food shortages set in, and unemployment soars yet higher. EWC will not help the poor any more than BEE, employment equity or rigid labour legislation have. Inequality and unemployment have never been higher.

And that’s just the start of it. There’s plenty of scope for creep. After all, land is just one form of property and further changes will only need to be legislative rather than Constitutional, meaning that only a parliamentary majority of 51% will be required.

It’s already clear that scope-creep is the ANC’s modus operandi. By their own admission, the original proposed amendment (published for public comment on 6 December 2019) giving the courts control to decide on compensation was just a ruse. They’d always intended to bypass the courts.

In driving EWC, the ANC has sought to scapegoat first the Constitution and now the courts for its own abject failure to execute an effective land reform programme over the past quarter century. As no less that former president Kgalema Motlanthe pointed out in his High-Level Panel Report to Parliament, Section 25 in its current formulation in no way impedes meaningful land reform. Rather, corruption, mismanagement, lack of funding and lack of political will are the real impediments.

In other words, the ANC government itself is the obstacle, and this latest amendment proposes to vest even more power in it.

The DA-run Western Cape has a 72% success rate in agricultural land reform projects compared to an estimated 10% success rate nationally. Our urban land reform record is consistently strong, with DA governments having given out well over 100 000 title deeds in urban areas.

The DA is unequivocally opposed to amending the Constitution and we will use every mechanism at our disposal to fight it, just as we are fighting prescribed assets and the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank and healthcare.

Indeed, it would be a grave mistake to view EWC in isolation. This move is exactly in line with the ANC’s overall strategy of achieving state control over every aspect of our lives so that their feeding frenzy can continue.

Nationalising the Reserve Bank and healthcare and hanging onto failing state-owned enterprises whatever the cost to the nation, including forcing pension funds to “invest” in them, are all part of the same broad agenda of theft.

These lead not to transformation but to economic ruin. The fastest, indeed only, way to transform our society is to throw open the doors to individual ownership, enterprise and entrepreneurship by embracing the values on which these depend: the rule of law including respect for the Constitution and private property rights; a market-driven economy; and a capable state that delivers to all. These are the DA’s values and vision and our offer to South Africa.

Sixth clean audit for DA-led Midvaal Municipality

Please find an attached soundbite, by John Moodey MPL, the DA Gauteng Provincial Leader here.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) applauds the DA-led Midvaal Municipality for continuing its good governance practices and managing its financial resources in a sustainable manner.

The Auditor General has awarded the municipality another clean audit for the 2018/19 financial year, the sixth consecutive award since 2013.

The DA-led Midvaal remains the best performing municipality in Gauteng.

Where we govern as the DA, we will do our utmost to ensure that taxpayers’ money is spent on delivering services efficiently to our communities.

The DA commends Mayor Baloyi and his team, and most of all we thank the people of Midvaal for their support.

VIDEO: ANC wil alle grond beheer soos stamgrond

Suid-Afrikaners wat op stamgrond woon het geen eiendomsekerheid nie. Die ANC poog om met die wysiging van die grondwet en onteiening sonder vergoeding die hele Suid-Afrika te regeer soos stamgrond waar “Koning” Ramaphosa grond sal kan wegneem en uitdeel nes hy wil. Die Demokratiese Alliansie (DA) se Skaduminister vir Landbou, Landelike Ontwikkeling en Grondhervorming, Annette Steyn LP gesels hieroor.

 

Eskom announces plan to keep the lights off as death spiral continues

Eskom CEO, Andre De Ruyter, today made a series of devastating announcements, which reveal the true death spiral Eskom finds itself in. De Ruyter announced today a plan to keep the lights off; promising more “intensive loadshedding”.

In 2015 government and Eskom announced a “maintenance festival”. It came to naught. What tangible assurances can we be given that inefficiencies, graft and political interference will not impact these plans?

It is high time that the nation is fast transitioned away from reliance on Eskom, which clearly cannot deliver. Our fragile economy desperately needs energy security.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) stands firm in our belief that the only way to guarantee reliable electricity supply, is to give South Africans the power to choose between alternative electricity generation options. It is time to say that Eskom cannot deliver, and is only taking South Africa backward.

The DA insists that urgent change must include introducing independent power producers to the grid, splitting Eskom into two entities so that generation and transmission can receive their own intensive focus, and exploring the partial privatization of the utility. But most important of all is that South Africans must be allowed and enabled to start choosing other electricity supply options, which currently the ANC government is doing everything it can to block.

Contracts need to be made transparent and the shareholders’ contract with Eskom must be renegotiated to give management the degree of freedom to implement responsible measures – which must be shared with the country.

It is time that the power to generate electricity is given to the people of South Africa, as De Ruyter’s admission sends a clear message that the Eskom under ANC governance is incapable of delivering a secure and dependable electricity grid. That is now an inescapable fact.

Eskom continues to utilize the same tired strategies and turnaround plans which time and again amount to darkness, as the announcement today of “intensive loadshedding” proves. Eskom has no plan to keep the lights on. In fact, it announced a plan today to keep the lights off, and that we find unacceptable.

The DA has a plan to stabilise and secure South Africa’s power supply and that is contained in our Cheaper Energy Bill, which seeks to break Eskom into two separate entities – a generation and distribution entity. This bill would ultimately break Eskom’s monopolistic grip over electricity generation and distribution in our country.

With more than R400 billion in debt, ailing infrastructure, and a bloated workforce there is simply no way to believe that government can save this sinking ship. Furthermore, throwing money, through bailouts and tariff hikes, at the problem will certainly make no difference. Why should South Africans continue to fork out billions for a power utility that cannot keep the lights on?

DA welcomes investigation into nepotism at PSC following DA pressure

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the announcement by the chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC), Richard Sizani, that an advocate from the Johannesburg Bar has been appointed to investigate the extremely alarming allegations of nepotism at the PSC. According to a whistleblower report, the Director-General of the PSC, Dovhani Mamphiswana, allegedly chaired a panel that appointed the mother of his child to the position of Chief Director for Ethics at the PSC.

The DA further calls on chairman Sizani and his fellow commissioners to protect the integrity of the investigation and to ensure that it is handled in an impartial manner. Under no circumstances must there be an attempt to victimize the anonymous whistleblower(s) who have courageously stepped forward to protect the PSC. Instead, the focus must fall squarely on Mamphiswana’s alleged misdeeds.

If the claims of nepotism are confirmed, President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet – who have complete powers over the appointment and dismissal of DGs – must make an example out of Mamphiswana. The PSC is not “just another” government agency – it is the watchdog over the entire public service and is supposed to enforce and abide by the absolute highest standards of ethics. There can be absolutely no room for doubt about the integrity of the PSC.

The DA also reiterates our call that it is time to radically restructure the PSC by making it wholly independent from the government. To this end, the DA will soon table our Professional Public Service Bill, which will take away the cabinet’s power to appoint the Director-General of the PSC. We call on all other parties in Parliament to heed the danger posed to the entire state by a compromised PSC and to support our legislation.

New ANC mayor, same ANC corruption in eThekwini

Fellow South Africans,

Today we’re here outside City Hall in central Durban to stand on behalf of the residents of this city and demand that the delivery of basic services is restored, and that refuse is collected timeously from every community. It should never be the case that honest and dutiful ratepayers of any city are denied such. However, due to rampant corruption and political interference within the Durban Solid Waste Department (DSW), the city’s streets are filled with refuse and litter, as collection has all but ground to a halt.

Make no mistake, corruption is not a victimless crime as the former President once suggested. The victims of corruption are ordinary residents of this city who pay their rates and taxes each and every month with a legitimate expectation of basic service delivery such as refuse collection. However, the same residents are let down by this government.

It hasn’t always been this way. The city had introduced an innovative waste separation system that enabled kerbside collection of recyclable waste. Households had to separate their waste into different colour bags, to minimise waste to landfill. These were: black bags for landfill, orange bags for recycling, and blue bags for garden refuses. The bags were provided by the DSW at a fee of R66.70, excluding VAT, which is added to their municipal account.

However, by 2016 this process started malfunctioning. Bags stopped getting delivered or were delivered on an ad hoc basis. The collection of the full bags also became inconsistent, with some residents waiting up to two weeks for their refuse to be collected. In February 2018, it was revealed that the tender process for the awarding of the contract to supply bags to the city was fraught with irregularities and a company which lacked experience and technical knowledge had ended up with the contract. This was part of the complete capture of the city’s administration by the ANC, led then by former mayor Zandile Gumede.

Today, eThekwini’s waste management is in shambles, and this is in large part due to political interference by ANC cadres. Zandile Gumede herself appears to be implicated in this breakdown, as are 60 other councillors. This as Gumede appointed an individual to allocate contracts to specific people on her instruction, and in the process flouted due process and tender regulations.

Sadly, this is a story South Africans know far too well: The ANC in government using the people’s money to further their own narrow interests, thereby negatively affecting the lives of all residents. That’s because corruption doesn’t discriminate – it’s an equal opportunity offender. We all suffer under corrupt governments.

Moreover, despite Zandile Gumede being arrested on corruption charges, she still receives a councillor’s salary each and every month. eThekwini ratepayers are funding the lifestyle of the corrupt Gumede and the ANC endorse this.

But there is hope! The DA is fighting tooth and nail to root out corruption and build a capable state that is competent to deliver services to all South Africans. Since the revelations of ANC corruption in eThekwini’s Solid Waste Department, the DA has laid criminal charges against many of those implicated in the alleged corruption, as well as securing refunds for the payments for bags which were never delivered to some residents.

Corruption in this city doesn’t start and end with the Solid Waste Department. Just yesterday the DA rejected the allocation of an additional funding of R166 million to the city’s Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP). This programme was moved into the mayor’s office in order to abuse the allocation of jobs for political gain. The DA has therefore written to both provincial and national COGTA departments, requesting an immediate investigation into the city’s EPWP.

Fellow South Africans,

Corruption is the antithesis of fairness. It ensures those who are connected get to eat, while millions of South Africans are left out and left behind. Corruption stymies the delivery of basic services, which form the bedrock of a functional society. Without water, electricity, roads, refuse removal, and basic infrastructure, our communities, towns, cities, and ultimately our country fails to function.

Now is the time for South Africans from all walks of life to coalesce around a new majority based on the shared objectives of constitutionalism, non-racialism, building a capable state, and zero tolerance for corruption. That is the path to prosperity for our nation, and the path the DA is forging ahead on.

Bek-en-klouseer: Regering moet dringend optree

Die regering se hantering van die bek-en-klouseer-krisis is geheel en al gebrekking. Aanvanklik het hulle niks daaromtrent gedoen nie en toe heeltemal oorreageer deur ‘n landwye verbod te plaas op veilings – ‘n stap wat die ekonomie groot skade kan berokken, sê die DA-leier, John Steenhuisen.

Today’s blackouts confirm Eskom’s death spiral

Eskom’s announcement of today’s Stage 2 blackouts confirms that it is in a death spiral and that it is time for the ANC government to get out of the electricity generation business and give the power to generate electricity to the people.

The ANC government and its utility Eskom, are unable to meet our nation’s energy needs, and there is no plan to fix this. The DA firmly holds that Eskom’s constant limping from light into darkness cannot continue.

Eskom continues to suffer financial catastrophe, being billions in debt. It blows through bailout cash, and it has proved for years that it cannot recover massive consumer debt owed to it. Eskom remains operationally weak, and its infrastructure continues to fail and to not meet demand. Its power generation mix is archaic, and has no way to move to cleaner more affordable energy.

These are signs of an entity which cannot be saved. We maintain that it is in a death spiral, and for so long as the ANC government continues to pretend Eskom can be saved, it is dragging South Africa with it down this spiral.

It is deeply concerning that while rolling blackouts continue, transparency and disclosure at Eskom remain elusive – contracts, short, medium and long-term operational and restructuring plans, and importantly a solution to the financial crunch it is experiencing, are kept secret and not disclosed to Parliament for oversight.

The DA has previously requested that the Chairman of the Portfolio Committee of Public Enterprises, Khaya Magaxa, convene an urgent meeting on these issues at Eskom, but to no avail. The DA has also asked the Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, for a meeting to address the electricity crisis and help the nation find solutions, and are awaiting a response thereto. We are absolutely committed to work to find solutions.

In the interim, Eskom demands more price hikes, requests additional funding to the tune of billions, and then promptly announces more looming loadshedding. To what end for our nation?

It is high time for alternatives, including breaking-up Eskom, immediately freeing-up space for all independent power producers, investigating aspects of privatisation and allowing South Africans to make their own electricity generation choices in their own businesses and homes.

Today’s threatened blackouts further evidence of Eskom’s death spiral

Eskom’s warning today of a heightened risk of blackouts this evening again shows that it is in a death spiral and that it is time for the ANC government to get out of the electricity generation business and give the power to generate electricity to the people.

We hope, for all South Africans, that today’s warning does not come true and that the power stays on tonight.

Frankly, the ANC government and its utility Eskom, are unable to meet our nation’s energy needs, and there is no plan to fix this. The DA firmly holds that Eskom’s constant limping from light into darkness cannot continue.

Eskom continues to suffer financial catastrophe, being billions in debt. It blows through bailout cash, and it has proved for years that it cannot recover massive consumer debt owed to it. Eskom remains operationally weak, and its infrastructure continues to fail and to not meet demand. Its power generation mix is archaic, and has no way to move to cleaner more affordable energy.

These are signs of an entity which cannot be saved. We maintain that it is in a death spiral, and for so long as the ANC government continues to pretend Eskom can be saved, it is dragging South Africa with it down this spiral.

It is deeply concerning that while rolling blackouts continue, transparency and disclosure at Eskom remain elusive – contracts, short, medium and long-term operational and restructuring plans, and importantly a solution to the financial crunch it is experiencing, are kept secret and not disclosed to Parliament for oversight.

The DA has previously requested that the Chairman of the Portfolio Committee of Public Enterprises, Khaya Magaxa, convene an urgent meeting on these issues at Eskom, but to no avail. The DA has also asked the Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, for a meeting to address the electricity crisis and help the nation find solutions, and are awaiting a response thereto. We are absolutely committed to work to find solutions.

In the interim, Eskom demands more price hikes, requests additional funding to the tune of billions, and then promptly announces more looming loadshedding. To what end for our nation?

It is high time for alternatives, including breaking-up Eskom, immediately freeing-up space for all independent power producers, investigating aspects of privatisation and allowing South Africans to make their own electricity generation choices in their own businesses and homes.

Section 25 Amendment Bill public participation period has been extended to 29 February 2020  

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the extension of the Section 25 Amendment Bill public participation period to 29 February 2020. We have long held the view that the public participation period would have been severely curtailed by gazetting of the Bill in December 2019, coupled with the festive season and the 31 January  2020 deadline.

The DA unequivocally opposes the amendment of Section 25, the Property Clause, of the Constitution and we reject land expropriation without compensation. Section 25 is not an impediment to meaningful land reform, but rather the corruption, mismanagement, and lack of political on the part of the ANC government.

The DA-run Western Cape has a 72% success rate in agricultural land reform projects compared to an estimated 10% success rate nationally. Further proof that meaningful land reform is possible through a capable and competent government.

The DA’s online objection portal has already received thousands of objections from ordinary South Africans who reject the proposed amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution. We urge South Africans to protect the Constitution and use this extension to come out in their numbers and voice their objections to this disastrous Bill.