DA reveals Federal Congress 2020 theme: Our statement of intent for South Africa

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has today revealed and announced the theme for our elective Federal Congress 2020. The theme is a statement of intent for South Africa and our offer to the people of South Africa.

The theme embodies a DA hard at work on a path to building a new majority for South Africa that will see our country out of the clutches of bad governance and corruption. In everything the DA does, we work toward a better future for our country, offering real hope of real change for South Africa.

The DA remains the party most trusted to deliver on our promises, to govern well and to change the lives of people for whom we govern.

To encapsulate our offer and promise to the people of South Africa, the theme for DA elective Federal Congress 2020 is: Real Hope. Real Change. Now.

Real Hope is a reflection on our extensive track-record of fighting for what matters, for the rule of law, for fairness in South Africa, for open opportunities for all, and our commitment to keep up this fight every day, while delivering the best governance in South Africa where we govern.

Real Change is our commitment to always do everything we can to deliver on our promises, to make urgent progress where we govern and to turn around every town, city and province where voters elect us; and as we build a new majority to govern South Africa it is our promise to rescue our country from the clutches of corruption.

The word “now” represents the enormous urgency of our mission and our work. As South Africa hurtles toward economic and social crisis under current failed governance, there is no time more important than right now to reassert the role of the DA in fighting for a better South Africa. We see the word “now” as a binding contract with the people of South Africa – there is no time to waste and the DA is hard at work right now, and every day.

South Africa cannot prosper under the current national government which is committed to reducing personal liberty, ongoing capture of the state, ingrained corruption, broken promises and weak leadership – South Africa needs change urgently, and the DA is working hard to deliver that.

On 31 October and 1 November 2020, the DA will hold its virtual Federal Congress to elect a new leadership and charter a way forward for the 2021 Local Government Elections and beyond, toward ultimately unseating the ANC government in South Africa.

Yesterday, we announced the names of candidates nominated to stand for election to Party Leadership roles, and the successful candidates, chosen by a democratic, internal election, will be announced on Sunday 1 November 2020.

The DA has been hard at work in preparing for this historic Federal Congress and preparations are going to plan.

On Friday the Party will officially open media accreditation for DA Federal Congress 2020.

Why must someone die in order for Minister Cele to get to grips with conditions on farms?

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) investigation into allegations that members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) are involved in the stock theft syndicate operating in the Senekal-area in the Free State and call on them to expand the investigation to encompasses more rural communities in South Africa.

The DA has been reliably informed from our numerous oversight inspections to various rural communities through the years that SAPS officers are often linked to the crimes they are supposed to investigate.

Rural communities cannot reasonably be expected to trust the police to keep them safe when they are alleged to be part of the perpetrators committing crimes against community members.

Recently, the DA wrote to genl. Khehla Sitole, the National Police Commissioner, regarding concerns in Tlakgameng-community in the North West and requesting the implementation of the SAPS Rural Safety Strategy there. Farmers and members of the community there regularly experience stock theft, poaching, vandalism, illegal land grabs, illegal grazing and intimidation.

The farmers in Normandien in KwaZulu-Natal brought similar complaints to an imbizo with Police Minister Bheki Cele in September. On that occasion the Minister told farmers in isiZulu that they must not complain if they get hurt – an allegation the Minister has since denied and blamed on a poor translation in a Sunday newspaper, but that have been confirmed by various sources present at the meeting the day.

While Minister Cele seemed to listen to farmers in the Free State at a meeting yesterday, there will never be true change unless he shows the political will and a change of attitude towards rural communities. According to a joint report by SAPS and StatsSA there were 28 418 reports of stock theft between 1 April 2019 and March 2020. Yet, the Minister was unable or unwilling to answer farmers’ questions in Normandien and had the audacity to accuse them of arrogance.

Conditions in SAPS will never change if the Minister does not change his attitude. It is exactly this kind of behaviour on the part of Minister Cele, which trickle down to the entire police service.

Yesterday, my colleague Andrew Whitfield MP, DA Shadow Minister of Police, wrote to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thandi Modise, to request the establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee of the National Assembly to investigate criminality and corruption at SAPS.

South Africans are tired of the show of outrage and sympathy when a life is lost in a brutal and tragic way. We are tired of Minister visiting communities and promising the world just to negate those promises the first chance they get. Why must someone die in order for Minister Cele to get to grips with conditions on farms? When will action be taken to prevent these vicious deaths?

The DA will closely monitor the promises made by Minister Cele in the Free State yesterday to see if action will follow his words, or if they will ring hollow.

DA calls for independent investigation as CSA government intervention could open door to political interference 

The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes the decision by the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa to give a notice of government intervention to the International Cricket Council (ICC) in the  affairs of Cricket South Africa (CSA).

This intervention by government is far from ideal, as it could open the door to political interference at CSA. We trust that no decisions will be made without the applicable response from the ICC.

The DA maintains that the appointment of an independent committee to investigate the ongoing challenges within CSA would be a much better option. Urgent intervention is required to address the financial, administrative and management challenges that the CSA board has failed to turn around.

The CSA board must carry the blame for this government intervention – cricket in South Africa is in this situation because the board chose to ignore several calls to submit itself to administrative intervention.

Instead of playing open cards, the board also chose to table a whitewashed forensic report into its affairs which effectively attempts to scapegoat one person for the crisis within CSA. All board members and executives, past and present, who were involved in CSA’s maladministration should be investigated, as the blame cannot be laid solely at the feet of one man.

The CSA board must fall on its sword for its failure to address challenges in South African cricket despite numerous chances to do so and submit itself to a full, transparent and independent investigation.

IMF makes it clear that SA government should prioritise poverty over SAA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in characteristically diplomatic language, has made its view clear on government’s plan to bail out South African Airways (SAA) again. The IMF has acknowledged the need for the South African government to weigh “subsidies to persistently loss making state-owned enterprises” like SAA, “against alternative uses of scarce public resources, including investments in alternative growth enhancing and/or poverty-reducing investments”.

 This was the response from the IMF Executive Director, Kristalina Georgieva’s to a letter the Democratic Alliance (DA) wrote to her in early October to draw the Fund’s attention to the government’s decision to proceed with a further R10.4 billion bailout for SAA.

This decision to throw the defunct airline another lifeline is at odds with the commitments Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni made in his Letter of Intent (LOI) sent to the Fund to secure a $4.3 billion emergency loan. The LOI clearly commits the government to use the funding from the IMF to support health and frontline services, solve the balance of payments problems caused by the pandemic, protect the vulnerable, support economic reform, drive job creation and stabilise public debt.

This SAA bailout will likely be funded by cutting Covid stimulus expenditure earmarked for public employment programmes and for rail infrastructure, or by cutting basic services on which South Africans depend. This decision to prioritise SAA over all other urgent spending priorities is morally indefensible.

In her letter, Ms Georgieva reiterated the importance of IMF emergency funds to be used “in an inclusive way to protect people’s lives and livelihoods, and in particular those of the most affected and least prepared to weather the crisis.”

The Fund also underscored the South African government’s commitment “to transparently plan, use, monitor and report all [Covid-19] related spending to ensure it reaches the targeted objectives”. We are pleased that the IMF is keeping close tabs on the government’s spending of this emergency loan and trust that the Fund will trigger its funding requirement for ‘full transparency and accountability’ on the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) loan it extended to South Africa.

Amendments to the Health Act give unvetted powers to the Minister of Health similar to a State of Disaster

Please find attached soundbite by Siviwe Gwarube MP.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize’s late night introduction of amendments to the Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and the Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions, 24 hours before the extended National State of Disaster under the Disaster Management Act expires is deeply concerning. It gives an impression of a government desperate to retain power over its citizens even outside of a legitimate State of Disaster by giving powers to the Minister which will allow him and the Executive to impose far reaching restrictions.

These regulations are attached to the existing National Health Act of 2003 and are now being amended to introduce sections akin to the Disaster Management Act to normalise snap government interventions. They give the Minister of Health or more broadly, the Executive, unlimited powers to impose restrictions that will impede civil liberties.

More importantly, these powers conferred to the Minister via the backdoor of the regulations make no provision for Parliamentary oversight and allow the Executive to impose restrictions without any checks and balances.

Parliament is not legally required to vote and pass on regulations, however, these specific regulations have far reaching consequences and must be brought to the full sitting of Parliament accompanied by a legal opinion sourced from Parliament’s legal services. These regulations must be debated and adopted by the House and cannot be snuck through the back door; in the middle of the night; 24 hours before the State of Disaster is meant to expire. This is why the Democratic Alliance (DA) will be writing to the presiding officers of Parliament to request that this be done as a matter of urgency.

While a legitimate argument can be made that these regulations in question ought to be improved in order to better manage notifiable medical conditions like Covid-19 in the future, sections of these amendments are reminiscent of the regulations contained in the Disaster Management Act which give the Executive unchecked powers.

The most concerning amendments state the following:

  • The Minister of Health may “impose necessary restrictions, relating to such notifiable medical condition” by the mere publication of a Government Gazette;
  • Restrictions may include:
    • Complete or partial closing of any public place including a place used for public receptions, tourist activities or events or public recreation, amusement or entertainment activities or events;
    • Prohibition of movements between districts and provinces of people;
    • Prohibitions of the use of ports of entry;
    • Imposing curfews for people to remain indoors; and
    • Closing of educational institutions.

During the past seven months we have seen the South African government tighten its grip on citizens more with some irrational and unnecessary limitations of their rights. This was done arbitrarily through a Covid Command Council that was accountable to no one else besides the executive. We have seen Parliament sidelined and relegated to a mere spectator all while massive decisions pertaining to the rights of citizens were taken. This was done in aid of our fight against Covid-19 – a legitimate global health disaster. We cannot allow this state of affairs to be normalized as though we do not live in a Constitutional democracy.

The Department of Health must ramp up its efforts to bring about behavioral change among South Africans and individuals must take personal responsibility for their health. This cannot be done through stringent and regressive pieces of legislation. Parliament must enforce its role as an oversight body when attempts to amass power on the executive starts to happen in this fashion.

DA calls for Parliamentary Inquiry into the South African Post Office

Please find attached a soundbite by Cameron MacKenzie MP.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will push for a Parliamentary Inquiry into the South African Post Office (SAPO). It has become abundantly clear that SAPO is suffering from the same deep-set rot afflicting many State entities such as Eskom and the SABC as a result of years of corruption, mismanagement and irregular interference by Ministers.

We believe that the on-going issues currently troubling SAPO have their origins in the past and that a Parliamentary Inquiry will uncover and ventilate issues by cross-examining present and past SAPO executives. This will ultimately plot a path forward that steers SAPO in the correct direction and hold those responsible for its current desperate state to account.

While the DA recognises the strategic importance of the SAPO to so many of our people as their sole connection to the formal economy, this cannot come at an unsustainable cost to the taxpayer. The Post Office can, and must, meet its core mandate: the delivery of parcels and mail – yet it is still losing more than a billion Rand a year.

The institutional malaise affecting SAPO looks unlikely to end as the entity remains cloaked in controversy, with future plans and initiatives long on vision but short on detail, and potential “strategic partnerships” shrouded in secrecy.

The government’s answer to the SAPO’s woes is to table yet another Strategic Turnaround Plan as a means to make the entity viable and financially sustainable. Yet, the SAPO cannot even get the basics right, with a mail backlog topping 3 million items and simple IT systems like online track-and-trace for international parcels still offline and non-functional.

It is also clear that the decision to corporatize the PostBank and turn it into a fully-fledged transactional bank – confirmed in the Communications Committee by Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams as a move to satisfy an ANC Congress resolution for a State bank – was not properly thought through before implementation, with severe unintended consequences for the SAPO as a whole.

For example, once the Department of Communications realized that SAPO could not be the controlling company for the corporatized PostBank, it now faces the prospect of the SAPO Group being completely bankrupt as the Post Office on its own is not a going concern, with its liabilities far exceeding its assets. And no solution is in sight.

It is also clear that largely as a result of ministerial interference in the operational affairs of the SAPO, a leadership vacuum exists at the entity. An acting CEO has been seconded from the Department to head SAPO, a clear indication that all is not well. This paucity of leadership starts with the Board itself, which is beset with infighting and conspiratorial plots centred around the erstwhile chairperson, Colleen Makhubele and Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams, and extends down throughout the organisation.

Only once the dealings at SAPO have been thoroughly ventilated, with stakeholders, past and present, called to account to Parliament, can the serious work begin to create an efficient, effective, profitable and sustainable postal service that delivers – whatever it takes.

DA announces Federal Congress Leadership Candidates

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has today announced the names of candidates nominated to stand for election to Party Leadership roles at the DA elective Federal Congress on 31 October 2020 and 1 November 2020.

In just 18 days, DA Federal Congress delegates will participate in a democratic internal election to select the leadership of the DA; successful candidates will subsequently take the Party forward.

Preparation for DA Federal Congress 2020 is proceeding full steam ahead, and the hard work being carried out to prepare for a successful virtual Federal Congress is progressing to plan.

Nominations for the candidates standing for election opened on 7 September 2020 and closed on Saturday 10 October 2020.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the DA had to reimagine the format of our Federal Congress and chose to proceed virtually, with delegates attending congress from their homes and also from a variety of venues being made available nationwide. This approach ensures that the Congress is extremely accessible to all delegates, from all communities.

In terms of the clause 6.1.4 of the DA Federal Constitution, “The Federal Congress elects the Leader, the Federal Chairperson and the [3] Deputy Federal Chairpersons.”

Furthermore, alongside Federal Congress, the members of the DA Federal Council will vote for the Chairperson and two Deputy Chairpersons of Federal Council, as well as the Federal Finance Chairperson, in terms of clause 6.2.4.1 of the Federal Constitution.

As the DA Federal Congress Presiding Officers, we have the pleasure of announcing the following candidates who have been nominated respectively:

Federal Finance Chairperson (Uncontested):

George, Dion

Deputy Chairpersons of Federal Council (Uncontested)

Masango, James

Walters, Thomas

Chairperson of Federal Council:

Moriarty, Mike

Zille, Helen

Deputy Federal Chairpersons [3]:

Bredell, Anton

Lotriet, Annelie

Nt’sekhe Refiloe

Smalle, Jacques

Federal Chairperson (Uncontested):

Meyer, Ivan

Federal Leader:

Ntuli, Mbali

Steenhuisen, John

The DA looks forward to a robust and successful Federal Congress as we demonstrate a clear commitment to internal democracy in our Party, despite the limitations of the current pandemic.

DA calls for independent investigation into CSA, as board tables whitewashed forensic report

The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls for the establishment of an independent committee to investigate the ongoing challenges within Cricket South Africa (CSA). This comes as the CSA board finally released its long-overdue forensic report into the organization’s administration following sustained pressure from the DA and Parliament’s Portfolio Committee of Sports, Arts and Culture.

Following our initial reading of the report, the DA is of the view that the allegations in the report was not compiled or investigated independently.

The report’s findings focus almost solely on the alleged misconduct of Thabang Moroe, but fail to finger those who may have been in cahoots with the former CSA CEO. The report also does not contain any recommendations on turning around the mismanagement and malfeasance within the cricket association.

The report effectively attempts to scapegoat one person for the crisis within CSA. The financial crisis, administrative challenges and poor leadership at CSA cannot be laid solely at the feet of one man.

All board members and executives, past and present, who were involved in CSA’s maladministration should be investigated. It is for this reason that the DA calls for an independent investigation into the administration of CSA dating from 2016 to present.

We will not accept this whitewashed report which essentially absolves the CSA board and other senior executives from any wrongdoing related to the past six years of decline in CSA’s administration.

DA’s Economic Structural Reform Tracker shows that South Africa is currently on a 73% deficit on economic reform progress

The following statement was delivered during a press conference on the launch of the DA’s Economic Structural Reform Tracker.

  • Please find attached a soundbite by Geordin Hill-Lewis MP.

Today marks exactly 508 days since President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his Presidential inauguration speech at the Union Buildings in which he called for an economic compact to drive growth and economic opportunity. Since then, however, the economy has continued its downward trajectory, with the unemployment rate reaching an unprecedented all-time high.

When Covid-19 hit our shores early this year, it delivered the final blow to an economy that was already in deep crisis due to years of policy inertia and entrenched structural problems. The 51% annualised quarter-on-quarter GDP contraction of the economy, announced by StatsSA, was a wake-up call to the undeniable fact that we can no longer afford to delay the implementation of the much-needed economic structural reforms.

The economic devastation brought about by the Covid-19 hard lockdown, has forced the government’s hand. A programme of economic structural reform has become imperative, not to grow the economy, but to save it from destruction.

Several warnings have been issued by bodies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and rating agencies that unless South Africa embarks on an urgent programme, the country’s economic crisis will only worsen. A draft Economic Recovery Action Plan, worked out by President Cyril Ramaphosa and NEDLAC, has been touted as a blue print to ‘fast track urgent structural reforms” and stimulate economic growth.

The DA has taken the first step to hold the President accountable to this commitment by introducing an Economic Reform Tracker. The tracker’s primary purpose will be to act as a progress assessment tool for economic reforms. In times past, the government’s approach to reform has been replete with numerous plans and rhetoric with zero implementation. The reform tracker is a tool that shines the spotlight on the implementation deficit that has so far characterised the government’s approach to reform.

The Economic Structural Reform Tracker can be accessed online at: https://www.da.org.za/economic-structural-reform-tracker

The tracker will use a 5 key score weighting system, with 1 representing the lowest score on economic structural reform and 5 representing the highest score, where a structural reform policy has been adopted and its impact measured.

Using this weighting system, the tracker will measure progress on economic structural reform on 5 thematic areas, namely, Public Finance Reform, Energy Sector Reform, State-Owned Enterprise Reform, Reducing Corruption, Labour Market Reform and Sectoral Reforms.

Using this tracker’s methodology, the DA’s initial assessment has shown that out of the 15 reform areas being tracked, 73% of these are still yet to move beyond the rhetoric or conceptualisation stage. This means that the plethora of commitments by various government functionaries to pursue a sustained programme of economic reform has not been met with a corresponding plan of action.

1. PUBLIC FINANCE: Reform Progress: 20%

National debt stabilisation

The process to stabilise national debt should be guided by a clear plan that lays out a clear roadmap of how it will be achieved. National Treasury and the Minister of Finance have, on several occasions, raised alarm on how South Africa’s public finances have become “dangerously overstretched”. However, they have fallen short of committing to specific intervention to addressing this fiscal challenge.

DA action plan: The DA has initiated a Parliamentary process to introduce a Private Members Bill, in terms of Section 73(2) of the Constitution, titled the Fiscal Responsibility Bill [B_2020]. The Fiscal Responsibility Bill (FRB) will ensure that debt levels and debt service costs are kept under control by setting legislative limits on how much the government can borrow each year.

Rationalisation of the Public Sector Wage bill

In the February 2020 budget, the Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni, committed to cut R160 billion over the next three years from the public sector wage bill to rationalise government expenditure. However, this has been contested ever since by Public Sector Unions which argue that government should honour it previously agreed to wage agreement.

DA action plan: The DA still stands by its position that:

  • Government should grant inflation-linked increases for all frontline service delivery heroes, while freezing the salaries of all managers and administrators and reducing the 29 000 millionaire managers in the public service by a third.
  • Enforcing reductions and a hiring freeze on all managerial positions (non-OSD levels 11 to 16) until the number of managers is reduced by a third.
  • Freezing the wages of the 33.7% of public servants not covered by the Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD) (including the likes of highly paid head office managers and supervisors).

2. ENERGY SECTOR REFORM: Reform progress: 40%

Independent Power Producers (IPPs)

It is encouraging that the government has gazetted s34 determinations which will allow the procurement of 11 813 MW of electricity and storage from independent power producers (IPPs). The s34 determination will enable the procurement of 6 800 MW of solar and wind generation, 3 000 MW of gas generation, 1 500 MW of coal generation and 513 MW of storage. It creates an implementing framework for the Integrated Resource Plan, adopted a year ago.

It is now critical that the IPP Office works to speedily issue the necessary requests for proposals and open the next bid window for renewables.

DA action plan: The DA will use the oversight avenues at our disposal to ensure that the Energy Department begins the process to immediately sign permissions for Independent Power Producers to provide additional power to the grid via qualifying municipalities, in terms of Section 34 of the Electricity Regulation Act.

Eskom Reform

While Eskom’s CEO has initiated a process to facilitate the unbundling of the entity, in June 2020 he told Parliament that Eskom may miss its target to split into three separate units by 2022 due to legal processes. The recently published NEDLAC Economic Recovery Action Plan seeks to achieve energy security through:

  • Fast track the implementation of self-generation projects above 1 MW through shortening approvals and NERSA licences;
  • Ensure new and affordable generation capacity by accelerating the implementation of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), including the release of RFPs for the next bid window of the Independent Power Producer Programme (IPPP) by January 2021.

DA action plan: The DA will review the six-weekly/two-months implementation reports of the Presidential Working Committee (PWC) set up to track progress on the implementation of the NEDLAC economic recovery plan.

Incentivising power generation by private citizens

Immediate steps should be taken to provide income tax incentives to individuals to enable them to generate electricity at their private residences for their own consumption. Despite the continuing energy crisis, the government still does not have a national policy on power generation by private individuals at household level.

DA action plan: The DA proposed an Emergency Solar Rebate (ESR) that would offer tax rebates for solar systems installed at residential properties. The Emergency Solar Rebate would be available for three years only, designed to alleviate our current energy crisis, and would work as follows:

  • 100% tax deduction for the cost of installed solar equipment, up to a maximum of R75 000.
  • The purchaser would fund the cost of installation upfront, and would claim the cost against their taxable income at time of submitting their ordinary annual returns.

3. STATE OWNED ENTERPRISE REFORM: Reform progress: 20%

Transparency and accountability in SOE management

SOEs must become more transparent in order to minimise the opportunity for corruption. A major reason for the corruption is the lack of clear and transparent procurement of contracts and tenders for politically connected parties which have hampered service delivery.

DA action plan: The Public Finance Management Amendment Bill, introduced by the DA, was tabled in Parliament in July 2020. Its proposals will go a long way in promoting transparency in financial reporting by SOEs. The bill aims to “provide for additional measures in instances where the executive authority fails to table an annual report and financial statements of a department or a public entity, and the audit report on those statements, in the National Assembly or the relevant legislature”. The bill also proposes that the annual report, financial statements, and the audit report on such statements referred to in section 65 of the Public Finance Management Act be tabled within 60 days after a written explanation has been tabled.

Public-private partnerships

Government must accelerate the process of restructuring ownership. This requires the government to look at the partial or full privatisation of a number of SOEs by bringing in private equity partners and disinvesting from non-core SOEs urgently. Privatisation which can stimulate a more dynamic industrial infrastructure; provide SOEs with the fiscal discipline of the marketplace; and bring in vital cash injections, skills, systems and expertise.

South African Airways (SAA) liquidation or sell

The government-sponsored business rescue process at SAA is one clear example which shows that the ANC led government is not concerned about rising levels of public expenditure, debt and budget deficits. Despite Treasury warnings that the fiscus will not be able to shoulder another bailout for the airline, a R10,5 billion bailout has been approved. The DA has consistently held the position that SAA should either be liquidated or sold to private investors. There is no prospect of the re-imagined airline ever being able to turn a profit in 3 years as suggested by the BRPs. The global airline industry is in deep crisis due to Covid-19 and it will take a while before a return to profits is achieved.

DA Action Plan: The DA will oppose an Appropriation Bill that may be drawn up to fund the SAA bailout. We will encourage South Africans to make submissions to Parliament to oppose the abuse of their taxpayer money to fund a defunct business entity such as SAA.

4. REDUCING CORRUPTION: Reform progress: 20%

Consequence management in Public Finance Management

Wasteful and fruitless expenditure has remained a perennial problem in successive Auditor General reports. When corruption is unearthed, whether at national, provincial or local government level, rarely is anyone ever held accountable. Consequence management in Public Finance has remained weak and any attempts to address this have not been deterrent enough, as the scourge of corruption has continued to increase. It remains to be seen whether the recently amended Public Audit Act, which empowers the Auditor General to recover monies lost through financial mismanagement and corruption through a referral of fraud and irregularities to relevant agencies for investigation, will lead to a reduction in mismanagement of public funds.

State procurement reform

The Covid-19 procurement scandal has brought into sharp focus questions about what needs to be done to insulate the state procurement system against corruption. At the centre of this problem is the issue of lack of transparency around tender processes. ‘Pre-qualifying criteria’ often misused in requests for tender to arrive at a predetermined winning bidder are a site of massive abuse and should probably be scrapped. In addition, there should be a clear legal prohibition on family members of politicians or civil servants doing business with the state. It is imperative that the draft Public Procurement Bill is passed into law as it will enable effective, efficient and transparent procurement of goods and services while insulating the system from corruption.

DA action plan: The Public Procurement Bill introduced by national Treasury, while designed to promote transparency and accountability in the public procurement process, has some grey areas which could affect its effectiveness in stamping out corruption. The DA will not support the Bill in its current form because:

  • The proposed office of the Public Procurement Regulator is not independent in the true sense of the word. Its location within national Treasury could render it incapable of exercising its authority without fear or favour.
  • Section 95(2)(b) allows for undue interference in local government by Provincial treasuries as it empowers the latter to determine whether a local government procurement is urgent or not.

5. LABOUR MARKET REFORM: Reform progress: 20%

Removing barriers to employment creation

In the South African context, sectoral minimum wages are key to save and create more jobs. Sectoral Minimum Wages are important to ensure the rights of working South Africans are protected and to guard against the abuse of the most vulnerable members of our society. The government has however chosen to push for erroneous labour legislation that shuts millions of South Africans out of the labour market. The recently introduced Employment Equity (EE) Amendment Bill will empower the Minister of Employment and Labour to set numerical EE targets for any national economic sector. This confers upon the Minister a degree of coercive racial control that is completely incompatible with the principles of a market-based economy.

DA action plan: The DA will be opposing the EE Amendment Bill in its entirety. Instead, we will propose the establishment of an independent panel – that cannot be unduly influenced by politicians, big business or big labour unions – mandated to set minimum wages for each sector, taking into consideration all relevant factors, including the need to create jobs. This approach would allow, in some sectors, the setting of a minimum wage higher than that proposed, while protecting the vulnerable in our economy.

Improving youth access to the labour market

South Africa’s 29,1% unemployment rate disproportionately affects the youth more than any other working demographic in the country. Stats SA indicates that there 20.6 million people between 15 and 34, of whom 34.1% are categorised as NEET — neither employed nor in any form of educational institution or training facility. The recently revised National Youth Policy does not offer any new ideas of how to overcome the unemployment scourge. It simply regurgitates the proposals that were contained in the previous version. It is a reflection of the policy lethargy that currently exists in government on the key question of how to build an inclusive economy that creates opportunities for the youth.

DA action plan: There are simply not enough voluntary programme or internship opportunities to absorb young secondary school graduates who decide not to pursue tertiary education. The government can play an important function in providing young South Africans with work experience and an opportunity to serve their country through a Voluntary National Civilian Service Year, gaining transferable skills and experience to meet labour force demands. Every matriculant who does not qualify for tertiary education will be offered this programme and paid a stipend for the opportunity to serve their country or community in return for valuable work experience. This experience will be in strategic public sector areas such as the police, education and healthcare and the programme will serve as a platform for further opportunities in young peoples’ chosen sector.

6. SECTORAL REFORMS: Reform progress: 20%

Auctioning spectrum

Auctioning digital spectrum to individual Electronic Communication Network Services (iECNS) license holders would raise R5 billion. Successive Ministers in the Communication portfolio have either failed to facilitate the auction of digital spectrum or have been the stumbling block in expediting the process. The recently published NEDLAC economic recovery plan has provided new impetus digital spectrum auction. It has committed to releasing high demand spectrum to iECNS by December 2020.

DA Action Plan: The DA will review the six-weekly/two-months implementation reports of the Presidential Working Committee (PWC) set up to track progress on the implementation of the NEDLAC economic recovery plan.

Ease of doing business

The Ease of doing business index ranks countries against each other based on how the regulatory environment is conducive to business operation stronger protections of property rights. Economies with a high rank (1 to 20) have simpler and more friendly regulations for businesses. South Africa is ranked 84 among 190 economies in the ease of doing business, according to the latest World Bank annual ratings. The rank of South Africa deteriorated to 84 in 2019 from 82 in 2018.

South Africa’s last highest ranking was in 2008 when it stood at 32 on the ranking list. Since then, the country’s regression on the ease of doing business has been met with a corresponding decline in the economy. The Ease of Doing Business Report indicates that South Africa implemented one single reform in 2019 and only four in the past five years.

Individual rankings have slipped to even lower levels than before. For example:

  1. Starting a Business 2019 – 134 to 2020 – 139
  2. Paying Taxes 2019 – 46 to 2020 – 54
  3. Registering Property 2019 – 106 to 2020 – 108
  4. Trading Across Borders 2019 – 143 to 2020 – 145
  5. Dealing with Construction Permits 2019 – 96 to 2020 – 98

Through a working group collaboration with the World Bank, the Department of Trade and Industry has set itself targets to improve South Africa’s ranking on the ease of doing business.

DA Action Plan: The DA will use its presence on the Parliament Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, together with the reports from Presidential Working Committee (PWC), to monitor the progress of policy reforms actions on starting a business, paying taxes, registering properties, cross border trade and infrastructure permits.

Mining regulation

South Africa’s mining industry shrank during the commodities boom of the early 2000s largely due to investor forbidding mining laws. The National Development Plan called this “an opportunity lost” and called for mining laws that were ‘predictable, competitive and stable’. Even with this realisation, the industry still remains highly regulated punctuated by persistent regulatory and policy uncertainty.

Proposed amendments to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act will stifle investment in the sector as it places onerous requirements on labour relations and empowerment which could hinder employment creation. In addition, the proposed guidelines for the resettlement of communities surrounding mines ignores the rights of actual communities located in the vicinity of mining operations.

The Mining Charter still remains an area of contestation between government and industry players. Even if it only relates to existing mining rights, the ‘once empowered always empowered’ clause means that if an application is made to renew a mining right, an existing economic empowerment strategy will have to be restructured to align with the new levels. Minerals Council of South Africa is fighting this proposed clause, arguing that a renewed mining right should not require new or additional expectations.

DA Action Plan: DA MPs on the Mineral Resources and Energy committee will oppose the proposed job killing amendments to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. The DA will instead propose progressive amendment to the Act that recognise the need to balance an investor friendly labour regime with employment creation. The DA opposes the ‘once empowered, always empowered’ clause in the Mining Charter and strongly believes that it should be removed completely. We will petition and have direct engagements with the Minister to ensure that this clause is not only removed but the Charter inspires confidence among mining investors.

DA calls for establishment of parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee to investigate rampant criminality in SAPS

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will write to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thandi Modise, to request that she uses the power at her disposal in terms of Rule 253(1) (b) of the Rules of the National Assembly to establish an Ad Hoc Committee of the National Assembly to investigate criminality and corruption at the South African Police Services (SAPS).

This is in light of yet another scandal involving the police, this time the SAPS Deputy National Commissioner, Bonang Mgwenya, who was arrested in connection with alleged R200 million tender fraud related to the 2017 procurement of police emergency warning equipment.

In addition to this arrest, the SAPS has for years been plagued by what appears to be systemic corruption and criminality.  Recent examples include:

  • Reports that one of the officers involved in the killing of 16 year old Nathaniel Julie has three previous criminal convictions, including assault, assault to cause grievous bodily harm, and malicious damage to property;
  • Several instances of corruption and bribery during the national lockdown;
  • Serious allegations of SAPS corruption leading to the death of top cop Charl Kinnear;
  • Media reports indicated at least R56 million was illegally siphoned off the police budget in just one matter involving eight high ranking SAPS members who were arrested in pre-dawn raid in June 2020; and
  • The fact that nearly a hundred officials have been doing business with SAPS between 2014 -2019 – despite it being illegal. The 20 most lucrative contracts amount to nearly R6.8 million.

These incidents are just the tip of the iceberg, and there is no doubt a long list of fraud, corruption, and other cases of wrongdoing that is yet to be uncovered. What is clear, however, is that we need a dedicated Ad Hoc Committee in Parliament investigating the corruption and criminality within the police ranks. The Portfolio Committee on Police is already dealing with a large number of items in its schedule, and does not have the time and capacity to exclusively deal with the issue of criminality within SAPS.

The DA resolution to establish the Committee, will include the power to:

  • Summon any person to appear before it to give evidence on oath or affirmation, or to produce documents;
  • Receive petitions, representations or submissions from interested persons or institutions;
  • Permit oral evidence on petitions, representations, submissions, and any other matter before the Committee; and
  • Conduct public hearings.

The criminality and corruption within SAPS has been made worse by the fact that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is severely under-capacitated and underfunded to fully investigate and refer cases for criminal prosecution. The police watchdog had previously been left without a permanent head for more than a year and is beset with capacity challenges.  That is an indictment on the Police Minister, and points to a lack of political will to seriously tackle corruption within the police service.

Taking into account the several incidents of crime committed by members of the police as well as the lack of political will under Minister Cele, Parliament needs to be given space to fully exercise its oversight responsibility in a focused and dedicated manner. We firmly believe that the formation of this Ad Hoc Committee will be a turning point in the fight against corrupt criminal cops.