DA Leader Steenhuisen successfully launches party’s Covid-19 info channel

Please find attached a soundbite from John Steenhuisen MP following the launch of the party’s dedicated Covid-19 information channel. Please also find attached pictures here, here and here.

Today the Democratic Alliance (DA) Leader, John Steenhuisen MP successfully launched “Corona Cast”, the DA’s dedicated Coronavirus information channel.

We will be broadcasting live every Tuesday and Friday at 14:00 on our social media pages to keep citizens informed during the 21-day lockdown period. The broadcast affords a unique opportunity to citizens to ask questions live and receive answers instantly on issues related to the Coronavirus.

The party will be collaborating with and hosting industry experts, its Shadow Cabinet, and public health professionals on the channel to provide up-to-date information on the state of the Coronavirus outbreak in South Africa.

South Africans can make use of the following addresses and platforms to submit queries, raise concerns, and make suggestions:

Email: coronavirus@da.org.za
Webpage: www.da.org.za/defeatingcoronavirus

Those who have missed todays broadcast can still watch it using the following links:

Facebook: https://bit.ly/2WM8W0O
Twitter: https://bit.ly/3dwpEaP
YouTube: https://bit.ly/33In90h

“Now is the time for us to band together as South Africans, put our country first, and defeat the Covid-19 virus.

The next three weeks of lockdown, and the months that follow this period, will be our greatest test as a nation. We can get through this if we stand united against our common enemy.

I ask that all South Africans focus on what needs to be done and comply with everything that is required of them. Our efforts to beat this virus are only as strong as the weakest link in the chain. Everyone has to be 100% on board and committed. Every measure is essential. Stay at home, avoid gatherings, maintain your hygiene, and cooperate with law enforcement and the SANDF. These will be trying times, but we must show restraint and peaceful cooperation in everything we do. That is the only way we will win.” – John Steenhuisen MP, Leader of the DA

DA welcomes rejection of race-based criteria for funding during national lockdown

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the rejection by Government of the absurd proposal by the Department of Small Business Development to link SMME-funding during the national lockdown to race-based ownership.

This issue has caused mass panic in the business community across South Africa due to a leaked document from the department.

This is why the DA wrote to Minister Patel on 20 March 2019 to encourage him to put a moratorium on BEE requirements linked to funding and incentives because it would effectively miss 93% of all businesses who are BEE exempt and do not require black ownership.

The DA is absolutely clear that funding must go to businesses who need it and who will keep people employed, regardless of the race, sex or geographical location of the business. The stakes are too high to be playing ‘battleships’ political ideology when so many jobs depend on quick and easy access to funding.

The DA also believes that the website to the funding application must be urgently taken down as it contains questions around race and sex which are not relevant to the funding application and only serve to sow distrust and confusion.

It is quite clear that as we move closer to the national lockdown, government’s communication needs to step up a gear and dismiss fake news as it spreads but equally needs to rein in rogue officials who are putting mad suggestions like this forward in the first instance.

DA confident and ready for Court

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is confident that it is in a strong position to fight the African National Congress (ANC) in court today and reverse its recent unlawful actions.

It is clear that the ANC’s real intention is to try and take over the City of Tshwane from the DA by grabbing power through the back door, getting their hands on the money and looting the city ahead of the elections next year.

The DA views the ANC’s appointment of a new administrator of proven dubious character yesterday as irrelevant because we are confident that the decision to dissolve Tshwane will be overturned, by the court.  It is clear that the residents of Tshwane are in fact not the ANC’s priority.

The reality is that the city should not be placed under administration as there are no real extreme circumstances set out in the ANC’s responding affidavit.

It is filled with frivolous and unsubstantiated accusations that do not justify the extreme actions taken by the MEC and the provincial government.

The DA strongly holds the opinion that its application has very good prospects of succeeding and that justice will prevail.

DA welcomes lockdown and SANDF deployment to combat the spread of COVID-19

The following remarks were delivered by the DA Leader, John Steenhuisen MP, following the televised address by the President on 23 March 2020.

The DA welcomes the President’s announcement this evening of a nationwide lockdown and the deployment of the South African National Defence Force. These measures are of critical importance in our efforts to combat the spread of the Coronavirus through our communities and contain, as much as is possible, future COVID-19 infections. We also welcome the announcement of a Solidarity Fund to support the vulnerable in the wake of this crisis, and thank the patriotic South Africans who made extremely generous donations.

Locking down our country and deploying the SANDF is something no South African would ever want to see in peacetime, but given the severity of our challenge it is absolutely the right thing to do. The threat of this virus is akin to a wartime situation, and this requires of each of us to make sacrifices in our daily lives, and to some of the liberties of our democratic society.

It is important to bear in mind that this lockdown has been scheduled for a period of 21 days. While this could possibly be extended should the circumstances call for it, it is not an indefinite situation. Three weeks of drastic measures now can save us many lives and buy us critical time for our healthcare professionals to deal with the unfolding crisis. If we don’t make this sacrifice now, we will pay a far greater price in the long run.

What is important right now is that every South African recognises the gravity of the situation. This is not something that happens far away and to other people. It is not something that might happen to us somewhere down the line. It is here already, and the full impact will hit us very soon. Already the most recent number of confirmed COVID-19 cases – 402, as announced by the Ministry of Health this afternoon – shows that our country has not been spared, and that our rate of infection looks to mirror that of countries currently battling hard to treat their citizens and prevent loss of life.

This is the biggest threat our country has faced in its 26 years of democracy. It will test our healthcare system and it will test our ability to withstand an economic onslaught like nothing before. But above all, it will test the resolve of our people, and this is where we can take great strength. We have been through tough times before, and we have overcome our obstacles. We can do it again, as long as we are in the fight together.

I would like to reiterate to the President my offer of the DA’s support in this fight. He and his government cannot do it alone. My Shadow Cabinet has already made this offer, along with constructive suggestions, to their counterparts in the President’s Cabinet. I urge him to take up this offer and bring on board as many people as he can.

I also urge him to consider our proposals put forward for an Economic Recovery Package to deal with the devastating effect of this virus on households, businesses and jobs. We have to put in place, right away, the measures to rebuild our economy and shield employers and employees from the worst damage.

And finally, to the people of South Africa, I ask that you focus on what needs to be done and comply with everything that is required of you. Our efforts to beat this virus are only as strong as the weakest link in the chain. Everyone has to be 100% on board and committed. Every measure is essential. Stay at home, avoid gatherings, maintain your hygiene and cooperate with law enforcement and the SANDF. These will be trying times, but we must show restraint and peaceful cooperation in everything we do. That is the only way we will win.

The next three weeks of lockdown, and the months that follow this period, will be our greatest test as a nation. We can get through this if we stand united against our common enemy.

All banks should match Standard Bank’s business loan payment holiday 

The announcement by Standard Bank of a 3 month payment holiday on all up-to-date business loans is very welcome. The DA calls on all other banks to match this relief intervention as soon as possible.

The DA has called for a loan forbearance programme since the national disaster was declared, and we are pleased that this request has been heeded. We now need to see this rolled out by all other banks and loan-making institutions.

This business loan forbearance, if it is matched by all banks, will give much needed relief to struggling businesses and families. It will give our economy the breathing room it needs to survive the next few months.

However, it is concerning that the government has not co-ordinated a nation-wide loan forbearance programme proactively, and has instead left it up to individual banks to make these announcements. This does not inspire confidence that the government has a firm grip on the economic disaster we face, or that they have any plan to help get our economy through this crisis.

The uncomfortable truth is that the government is unable to decisively intervene to save the economy now, because it has no money, and no ability to raise more debt, following a decade of economic mismanagement.

But they can and should still play a leadership role in co-ordinating an economic response. We reiterate our call for the government to present a comprehensive Economic Support Package, which should include the measures the DA has called for this past week:

  • Free up funds for disaster management:

At this time, it is unthinkable that redundant SOEs like SAA will receive a bailout of R16.4 billion, as is proposed in the current budget, while the health budget is to be cut by R3.9 billion.

This SAA bailout should be cancelled immediately and the budget amended to allocate this money to disaster relief, and to provide for the essential equipment that our health officials will surely need in the coming weeks.

  • Loan forbearance:

For the economic survival of small businesses, we propose a nation-wide four month payment holiday on loans for small and medium businesses, in particular property loans, business loans and vehicle loans. Now that this proposal has been announced by Standard Bank, we call on other banks to match it.

  • Rental forbearance:

Most small businesses operate from rented premises. Landlords can often not afford to relax these rental payments, because the properties themselves are bonded. If a loan payment holiday programme is enacted, then rental payments can also be paused for four months to help businesses survive.

There are of course some property owners who rely on the income from their properties, even if they are not bonded. In these cases, a pause in rental payments, or a reduction in rental payments, would need to be negotiated on a case by case basis. Even so, it would still help for the government to make a statement calling on owners to demonstrate forbearance wherever possible.

  • Raise in VAT threshold, and pause in UIF and Worker’s Compensation Fund payments:

The Department of Labour has announced a pause on payments for UIF, which we welcome, but this must be extended to include payments for the Worker’s Compensation Fund by small businesses for four months, without affecting workers’ cover under the fund. Many businesses pay tens of thousands of rands to these funds, and this money would be valuable cash flow support to those businesses during this time. Payments could be recouped when the economy rebounds.

The Compensation Fund currently has R50 billion in assets, and pays out roughly R4.5 billion in claims each year. Our assessment is that The Fund could absorb a single payment deferment this year.

Now is also the time to raise the VAT threshold for small businesses, from R1 million to R2 million. This would give immediate relief to small businesses.

DA seeks clarity on SMME debt relief and resilience measures

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the establishment of a Debt Relief Fund and Business Resilience Facility in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, but we require clarity on important aspects.

We will be writing to Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni to request clarification and elaboration from her office on what the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) means that “…the applicant must demonstrate direct link of the impact or potential impact of COVID-19 on the business operations…” in order for SMMEs to be eligible for assistance.

In order to ensure optimal outcomes for this Fund and Facility, it is vital that their processes are not ensnared in red tape. We need a commitment that applications will be handled swiftly, within 72 hours, and that approved beneficiaries will receive payment speedily.

In addition, we note that the value of the Fund and Facility was not announced. Clarity is also vital in this regard, even if the figure is provisional and subject to change over time, so that the Department can avoid unrealistic expectations on the part of SMMEs.

We will also enquire whether the Minister and her Department are involved in any talks between government and business to facilitate public-private partnerships that can leverage private sector resources to contribute to efforts to increase business resilience and protect jobs during this Covid-19 pandemic and in its aftermath.

It is imperative that social partners work together in order to face this difficult time in our country. It will take nothing less than a “whole of society” approach for all of us to get through this.

We reiterate the DA’s availability and willingness to contribute to the Department’s efforts to address this national emergency as it affects the Small Business Development portfolio.

Liquidate SAA so that billions can go towards Covid-19

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the South African Airways (SAA) Business Rescue Practitioners, Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana, to urge them to immediately apply to court to liquidate SAA.

They must do so in terms of section 141. (2)(a)(ii) of the Companies Act in order to prevent further wasteful bailouts of SAA that are desperately needed to fight the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.

Section 132.(3) of the Companies Act requires that if a company’s business rescue proceedings have not ended within three months after the start of those proceedings, the business rescue practitioner must prepare a monthly report on the progress of the business rescue proceedings and submit such reports to the Court or the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC).

The three months for the SAA proceedings ended on the 5th of March 2020 and the first report should already have been submitted. We have therefore asked for copies of their reports submitted in terms of section 132.(3) of the Companies Act.

According to media reports, the Business Rescue Practitioners have asked creditors for yet another extension to submit their proposed SAA business rescue plan. They are apparently citing the Covid-19 pandemic as the reason for their request.

However, the SAA Business Rescue Practitioners, have already had four months, which is considerably more than the period stipulated in the Companies Act and should have presented their business rescue plan to creditors on the 28th of February 2020 before the extension to the 31st of March 2020.

The complete lack of any urgency on the part of Matuson and Dongwana to get the business rescue plan approved is a clear indication that the entire business rescue process is a farce and has been so from the very beginning.

Given the collapse of ticket sales income as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, on top of the dire financial position of the airline, it would be immoral for the SAA creditors to grant the SAA Business Rescue Practitioners yet another extension to submit their proposed SAA business rescue plan. Such an extension will simply delay the inevitable collapse of SAA and cause billions of rands desperately needed to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic to go down the drain.

Instead of fixing the problem, Matuson and Dongwana have become complicit in ensuring that SAA continues to trade at the expense of now not only the poor and the hungry but also of the thousands of South Africans who are and will be at risk of Covid-19 death.

DA calls on President Ramaphosa to reprimand Minister Zulu following reckless Covid-19 video

The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on President Cyril Ramaphosa to issue a formal reprimand to Social Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu, in light of the irresponsible video she posted on her social media, in which she stated that she had a hard time staying at home and that the “[Coronavirus] must go away”. 

While she has subsequently apologized, her comments simply cannot go unpunished. 

The Minister’s comments contradicted the measures and recommendations that her department announced for the collection of social grants. The Department has discouraged grant recipients from collecting their grants on the first day of payment and will ensure that no more than 100 people are served at a time at SASSA and Post Offices. 

The DA will monitor the grants collection process closely and will hold the Department to account if these measures are not strictly enforced.

Minister Zulu’s comments are wholly irresponsible and sets a poor example to the public – especially the vulnerable communities who she represents. 

South Africa is gripped in a crisis due to the outbreak of Coronavirus in our country. As such, we require responsible leadership, especially from those in public office. 

We trust that the President will once again show the leadership he has shown during this unprecedented period, and hold the Minister fully responsible for her comments. 

We need the collaboration of a new majority to shield SA from COVID-19

Note to Editors: Please find attached soundbite and video by John Steenhuisen MP.

Fellow South Africans

Today, as we celebrate our hard-fought human rights, our country stands before one of its greatest tests ever. The spread of COVID-19 through our cities, towns and villages will stretch, to the very limit, the ability of our state to safeguard these human rights. And it will test our resolve and resourcefulness, as a nation, in containing and mitigating this spread, in treating those who require care and in rebuilding our shattered economy.

In our Bill of Rights, in Section 27 of the Constitution, it is written that everyone has the right to have access to health care services, and that no one may be refused emergency medical treatment. Under normal circumstances, upholding these rights has proven hard enough. But the coming months will place our public and private healthcare services under the kind of strain that no one could have foreseen or properly planned for.

This is a time for all South Africans to work together. We cannot afford the distraction of blaming and political point-scoring. Solutions to this crisis – whether financial, logistical or medical – will come from individuals, from the private sector and from right across the political spectrum. It is imperative that we put aside our differences and “park our egos” so that every good idea can be heard and considered.

It is early days yet, but so far my engagements with the President, with my fellow parliamentarians and with many others in business and civil society have been hugely encouraging. Across the board I have seen a genuine desire to stand united as we focus on our common enemy: the spread of the coronavirus.

Some of the emergency measures announced by the President may seem drastic – and indeed, these measures will undoubtedly have a profound effect on our economy and particularly small businesses – but I have no doubt that this was the right call. If you look at what has happened in countries where the spread of the virus wasn’t slowed down soon enough, you realise that tough, bold action is the only option. We simply have to give our healthcare workers every possible chance to treat those who need emergency care, and this means slowing down the rate of infection as much as we can. We can rebuild what we lost in our economy, but we can’t bring back lives that were lost.

I am very proud of the response of my colleagues in the DA and in DA-led governments across the country to this crisis. This is a distressing time for everyone, but they have stepped up with courage and resolve, and have come forward with a host of measures to help combat the spread of the virus, and to mitigate the effects. Premier Alan Winde has convened a Joint Operations Centre focused on mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on the economy of the Western Cape. They have met daily as they seek to find ways to support the key sectors in the province: Tourism and Travel, Conference & Events, Agriculture, Exports, Manufacturing and the Services Sector.

The Province, working with Wesgro, the City of Cape Town and other partners, has also established the COVID-19 Centre for Business. This is a team of 24 staff members who will provide virtual advice and support to businesses, focusing on containment of the virus, adaptation of businesses to make them more resilient, and the recovery of businesses once the pandemic has been contained.

Throughout the province, people from all sectors are rolling up their sleeves and working together. Buses and taxis are being disinfected daily, retailers have redoubled their efforts to keep shelves stocked – and, in some cases, make shopping hours available exclusively to the elderly – and healthcare staff are working around the clock to prepare hospitals and put protocols in place to help deal with the unfolding crisis. This truly is an “all hands on deck” situation.

Each member of our Shadow Cabinet has also written to his or her counterpart in National Government offering the DA’s assistance in this fight. It is encouraging that government seems prepared to put aside differences to work with good ideas, regardless where they may come from. The decision to put UIF payments on hold for the coming months was one of the measures put forward by the DA, and this will undoubtedly buy some leeway for businesses to survive this uncertain period.

But there is much more we can and must do. Government’s response in terms of containment of the virus has been good. Now it needs to do the same to protect our economy and the livelihoods of thousands of business owners and their employees. Small businesses, in particular, do not have the reserves to withstand this crisis on their own, and they will need government’s help.

We need a comprehensive Economic Support Package to see our country through this time, and this package must put the people of South Africa front and centre. We simply cannot go ahead with spending precious money on failed SOEs while this pandemic crushes our economy and plunges millions of South Africans even further into hardship. We have to cancel the R16 billion bailout of SAA and immediately redirect this money to the Economic Support Package.

What we can also do – and these steps have already been put forward by the DA – is put loan and rental payments for small businesses on hold for four months and hit pause on Worker’s Compensation Fund payments (as has been done for UIF), as well as raising the VAT threshold for small businesses from R1 million to R2 million.

I know that some of these ideas will be met with resistance by certain groups within the ruling party but, importantly, not by all of them. There are enough people on both sides of the House who will be prepared to do the right thing to save our country from a post-COVID-19 disaster. And that is why reaching across the aisle and working together has never been more important.

Our country is extremely vulnerable right now, and 59 million South Africans have no choice but to trust that their leaders will do what needs to be done to protect them and safeguard their future. We have no choice but to find each other – to build a new majority that puts our people first. This new majority was always going to be the way forward for our country, but suddenly the timeline has dramatically shortened. We have to do it now.

DA consults lawyers and demands that police protect South Africans from Nehawu

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has today started consultations with our lawyers over the remedial options at our disposal to protect the lives of public servants and the broader public against the Coronavirus threats issued by Nehawu.

We have also written to the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Minister of Public Service and Administration, Senzo Mchunu, demanding to know what they are doing to protect workers and the public from the deranged Nehawu leadership. Please find attached letters here and here

Throughout this week, Nehawu’s leadership have repeatedly pledged that they are willing to risk the lives of public servants, and the broader South African public, in their quest to prevent desperately-needed cuts to the public wage bill.

Nehawu’s secretary general, Zola Sapthetha, even explicitly said that “We would rather sacrifice ourselves to risks, including this coronavirus.” By “ourselves,” he was referring to the 20 000 workers that Nehawu plans to expose to the risk of contracting the Covid-19 virus during a planned protest on 30 March. This is in contrast to the decision by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), who decided to cancel another protest that was planned for today, due to the Coronavirus.

The DA will do everything in our power to protect public health and safety. That is why we have today written to the SAPS and Minister Mchunu, demanding to know how they plan to avert this looming disaster, including by arresting the leadership of Nehawu if they carry out their threats. We have also briefed our lawyers to approach the court for an urgent interdict if Nehawu does not immediately and publicly cancel the protest march.

Even one Coronavirus infection resulting from this deranged and irresponsible threat could spread like wildfire throughout the entire population. Nehawu knows this, which is why they are deliberately using the Coronavirus crisis, and the lives of workers and the public, as a desperate blackmail ploy against the planned wage cuts announced by Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, to begin stabilizing our country’s finances.

The many hardworking public servants of our country, including the heroes battling on the frontlines of the Coronavirus crisis, deserve better than destructive labour cartels who are willing to endanger the lives of their members just to protect the fat-cat salaries they extract from the hard-earned wages of workers.

The DA will not allow Nehawu to get away with this blackmail. We will fight tooth and nail until they are forced to cancel the planned march.