The people of KZN deserve a DA government

Note to Editors: The following speech was delivered by the DA Deputy Federal Chair Solly Malatsi at the DA KwaZulu-Natal Congress in Durban today.

Sanibonani!

Anisibahle!

Democrats, we gather here just a few days after commemorating Freedom Day.

As is the case whenever I reflect about Freedom Day, I am reminded of where we come from as a country.

The reality is that millions of South Africans don’t fully enjoy their freedom as they don’t have jobs, don’t feel safe in their communities and don’t have access to the most basic services they are entitled to by law.

Right here in Kwazulu-Natal we have a non-caring government whose appetite for corruption has left millions of learners starving because their crony couldn’t deliver food to schools.

Abantwana be sekolo ba bulalwa yindlala nge nxa ye corruption.

We live in a country where 8 – 12 hours of loadshedding has become a daily norm while thousands of small businesses are closing because they can’t afford to power their businesses with generators.

We live in a country where the unemployment rate is 32.7% yet there are young people who aren’t registered to vote for a government that will create the enabling environment for job creation to thrive.

We live in a country where at least 70 women are raped daily while the Minister of Police shoots off his mouth saying a rape victim was “lucky” to be raped by one man.

This, democrats, is the greatest betrayal of a generation.

Who would have thought that freedom fighters would later inflict the most vicious assault on the dignity of poor people!

Democrats, it is only the DA that can save South Africa from the inhumane abuses of our freedoms by the ANC.

Not only do we have the best ideas to solve our country’s problems.

We also have the best people to lead governments that deliver services to all people.

From Umgeni to Midvaal. Kouga to Cape Town, Thabazimbi to Stellenbosch; it is DA governments that are leading performers in delivering quality basic services for all people.

It is DA governments that are enhancing the freedoms of poor South Africans by subsidizing them with the largest basket of free basic services.

It is DA governments that are restoring the dignity of residents who have lost hope in the ability of local governments to transform their lives.

Democrats, we are on the brink of history, not only in this province but throughout the country.

The Moonshot Pact that has been initiated by our federal leader is the most practical pathway to deliver the DA to government nationally.

Now more than ever, we are very close to dislodging the ANC from power.
So you need to be vigilant over the tenders in your municipalities and provincial departments.

The ANC knows very well they will be out of office in 2024 so they will use their remaining days in power as their last opportunity to steal.

And they will do so shamelessly.

Labantu abasa nawo namahloni!

So please scrutinise every major contract in all government departments and municipalities.

We must expose every trick as they will try to channel millions to their fellow comrades and cronies, to fund their elections campaign next year.

Democratic, internal elections are a symbol of a vibrant party unlike the others parties that are owned by their owners and not members.

Some of them appoint and fire leaders based on the mood of the owner.

They can’t even tell us how their leaders will be elected.

In the DA, we hold our leaders accountable through regular elections.
We aren’t afraid of going to congresses.

We trust our internal processes so much that we can even bring congress dates forward.

Democrats, the DA KZN is one of the best exhibitions of what is so right about our party.

No wonder you won the Best Province Award at our federal congress.

So whatever the outcome of this congress will, please leave that electionitis virus here.

For we are going to need each other to win this province.

We dare not be distracted by internal dynamics.

Everything we do from today onwards must be geared towards making sure we end up in government in this province next year.

Democrats, I want to challenge you to ask yourselves how do your daily actions help advance the cause of the DA to govern nationally.

To achieve this and to never fall into the comfort of complacency, we must demand the best from our leaders as we do of ourselves.

Democrats, sekusele kancane, 2024 is here.

We need to focus on the issues that matter to voters and not our egos.

Phambiki DA Phambili!

KZN is ready for a DA-led government in 2024

Note to Editors:  The following speech was delivered today by the DA Chief Whip Siviwe Gwarube at the DA’s KwaZulu-Natal Congress in Durban.

Good morning, Democrats!

It is always great to be back in KwaZulu Natal,

It is even more exciting now since the growth of the DA in the province is undeniable;

We are breaking new ground!

We are doing what many said could not be done;

Taking on Umngeni Municipality – the first DA government in KZN was only the beginning.

The people of South Africa are making the connection: there is a direct correlation between how you vote and how you live;

The people of Mphuphumeni will testify that they made a different choice in 2021 and their lives have changed for the better!

This will be the story of many around KZN as the DA grows and threatens to form a government here in 2024.

Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come!

The DA’s time has come.

The ANC’s time has come to an end!

But, democrats it is simply not enough to tell voters that the ANC has failed.

It is not enough to remind them that they have been betrayed by the party of liberation.

They know this!

They feel this everyday of their lives.

They know it every time the lights go off!

They know it every time another corruption scandal breaks!

They know it every time we are told our government is bringing accused war criminals to South Africa!

They know it every time they cannot afford to buy food for their families.

We now need to show them that the ANC may be dying; but their dreams do not have to die with it.

We need to show them that the DA can do for them what we have done in Cape Town, Midvaal, Koega and right next door, it Umngeni.

We need to tell them about how we managed to get the Western Cape to produce 90% of all new jobs in the last quarter,

We need to tell them that 7/10 young people being without work is a crime.

And that the indignity of joblessness will be fought by the DA,

That the 30 million South Africans living in poverty will be a priority for the DA,

And we need to tell them how we have added thousands of additional police officers where SAPS has failed the people of Cape Town.

The people of South Africa are yearning for change.

They are in desperate need of hope and a credible government that will deliver on promises made.

That is why we cannot be emphasise enough – apho kuphethe khona iDA ubomu babantu bungcono.

Apho kuphethe urhulumente we DA, municipalities are turned around to give better services to people who never knew that government is meant to get the basics right.

Kwindawo esiphethe kuzo, loadshedding will be a thing of the past.

Abantu bethu deserve better than the ANC.

But we will need to go door to door, street by street inspiring people to not lose faith in our democracy, and to vote for the DA.

Their anger with the ANC must result in them voting differently instead of staying at home.

This is why we need to make this compelling offer to them.

Asithethi nje kungenzeki.

Asibi mali kaRhulumente.

Asiniki misebenze abantu bombutho othile.

Asinyanzeli abantu abatsha abakhangela imisebenzi balale no- councillor kuzo bazofumana I-EPWP.

Asifuni kunikeza abantu oR350, sifuna bafumane imisebenzi.

But democrats, isikhathi siphelile,

Ukhetho luka 2024 lusondele,

We need to go out there and tell people what a DA government will do for them and encourage them to vote!

Asilali.

Sisempini.

Ubangaba we don’t save South Africa in 2024 sakufika ku 2029 sesingena lizwe

So let’s go out there, and do our bit for our country.

Let’s go tell voters akuphelanga mathuba!

They have one last opportunity to cast a vote that will change their lives.

And that change will start here with us all.

Viva DA, VIVA!

KwaZulu-Natal is ground zero for the Moonshot PACT

Note to Editors: The following speech was delivered by the DA Federal Leader John Steenhuisen at the DA’s KwaZulu-Natal Congress in Durban today.

Fellow Democrats,

It is simply wonderful to be here with all of you today in my home province of KwaZulu-Natal!

This remains a province with enormous potential, despite the ANC’s best efforts to ruin it.

The people of KwaZulu-Natal are resilient and they are increasingly rejecting the damage that the ANC has done here.

In fact, the province of KwaZulu-Natal is going to be home to one of the DA’s flagship campaigns in the leadup to the 2024 election.

This is because victory is within reach here for the DA.

The unfolding dynamics in KZN provides a perfect case study for what we can achieve through the Moonshot Pact I announced at our Federal Congress.

On the one hand, it is clear that ANC support is tanking in KZN. Polling suggests that the ANC will struggle to get even 40% of the vote is an election took place tomorrow.

In contrast, the DA is well on track to grow substantially in this province.

But this is where things get interesting.

While the ANC is set to lose its majority, it may well intend to partner with the EFF when that happens next year.

This means that we will need to work with other parties to make an ANC-EFF coalition impossible.

As I outlined at Congress, this scenario would be Doomsday for South Africa, and the same applies to this province.

The current numbers tell us that, if we partners with other opposition parties here through the Moonshot Pact, including the IFP, then we are already poised to overtake the ANC.

What remains is for us to work with our partners to grow the DA’s vote share to the highest possible level, so that the Pact can together reach 50% plus one in KwaZulu-Natal.

Simply put, our mission must be to push the ANC and EFF collectively to below 50%, while growing the DA and the Pact to 50% plus one.

I know this can be done and I want to congratulate the DA in KZN for showing us how.

The relationship between the DA and IFP in this province is not only important for the future of the Moonshot Pact.

It also demonstrates that when we work together in the best interests of the country, an opposition Pact can become larger than the sum of its parts.

As we’ve seen in by-election after by-election, both the DA and IFP are growing in KZN thanks to the mature cooperation between these parties.

This is exactly the recipe we need to also replicate at national level, by bringing together all like-minded opposition parties that want to defeat the ANC, and keep the EFF and its proxies out of power.

As a I also explained at Congress, the Moonshot Pact can only work when it is constituted out of parties that all share a true commitment to the opposition cause.

It is for precisely this reason that we have not invited parties that are currently propping up ANC and EFF governments in municipalities like Johannesburg.

All political parties will have to make a choice: either they stand with the Pact, or they stand with the ANC and EFF.

Where parties try to sit on the fence or play both sides, we will know that their heart is not truly with the opposition cause, and they must be left out in the cold.

I am also happy to announce some good news here today.

Over the past week, I have been spontaneously approached by more parties and organisations wanting to join the Pact.

I am particularly grateful to the leader of the Spectrum National Party, Mr Christopher Claassen, who has initiated a process to get more local and newly-formed parties to join us around the table at the National Convention for the Moonshot Pact.

It is starting to look like this Convention may become one of the most important political developments in recent South African history.

If all goes well, the Convention should take place during the month of June.

My office has now also reached out to all other party leaders who have already signed up to set up a technical committee to take care of the logistics.

I want to specifically thank the leaders of other parties who have constructively suggested the creation of such a committee to start aligning our preparations and communications.

I can assure you that the DA at national level is deeply committed to getting the leaders of all like-minded opposition leaders around the table at the Convention as soon as possible.

It will be for these leaders to collectively design the minimum programme, terms of engagement and vision of the Moonshot Pact.

My fellow Democrats,

If we get this right, the Pact will offer South African voters something they’ve never before had.

A viable path to victory for the opposition.

The seven parties that have already signed up to the Pact got a third of the national vote in the 2021 election.

Our collective mission must be to increase that total from a third, to half.

Depending on the exact final composition of the Pact, this will likely mean that we need to grow the total non-ANC-and-EFF vote by about 10 to 15% between 2021 and 2024.

I fundamentally believe that this is possible.

This is because the formation of the Pact will show voters that a national DA-led government that excludes both the ANC and EFF is possible.

But for this project to have any chance at success, the DA will have to have its best ever election result in 2024 to provide a stable anchor for a new Pact government.

We are the only party that can provide a stable “anchor” to ensure that the Pact becomes a viable coalition government without the instability we have seen in some places.

For a Pact government to work in a stable way in KwaZulu-Natal and nationally, the DA must be as big as possible.

But there is another reason why I am today asking you to go out from this Congress and run the best election campaign KZN has ever seen.

That reason derives from what happens if the Moonshot Pact does not get to 50% plus one.

While the DA is absolutely committed to this project, we also know that nothing in politics is ever guaranteed.

We are working to achieve the best case scenario – which is a DA Pact government – while also preparing for the worst case scenario.

If the Pact does not manage to push the ANC and EFF to less than 50% combined, then the DA will become the very last bulwark standing between this Doomsday Coalition’s and it’s attempt to finish off our country through destructive policies like expropriation without compensation, nationalising the Reserve Bank and killing-off the private sector.

Make no mistake about it: working with the EFF will give free rein to the ANC’s very worst instincts.

If the Doomsday scenario does take place, with Deputy President Julius Malema in the Union Buildings next year, then only the DA will stand in the way of an ANC-EFF coalition.

This means that we must explain to voters that only a DA that is bigger and stronger than it has ever been before will provide an “insurance policy” if the ANC and EFF do jointly take power in KZN and nationally next year.

Democrats,

The Moonshot Pact is not in conflict with the vision of a growing DA. Quite the opposite.

By providing voters with a credible and realistic path to power for a new government, the Moonshot Pact can enthuse our existing voters like never before, and also win over new voters to the DA who have been waiting for a compelling political vision that can save South Africa.

The Pact offers exactly such a vision.

This credible and practical vision gives opposition voters a sniff of something they have never experienced before: victory over the ANC.

As a member in good standing of the DA in KwaZulu-Natal, I ask you as colleagues that we come out of this Congress more unified than ever before.

I ask that you work with and support your elected leadership.

And above all, I ask that you go out there and canvass every single voter available to the DA.

Tell them that the DA is working day and night to make the Moonshot Pact a success, because we are ready to lead national government.

And explain to them that South Africa will not survive the rise to power of an ANC-EFF coalition, which is why we need every single one of them to register and turn up on Election Day 2024 to do the one thing that can save our beautiful country: vote DA!

Thank you.

DA congratulates Kirsten Neuschäfer on historic Golden Globe Race victory

Note to editors: Please find attached soundbite by Veronica van Dyk MP.

The DA congratulates Kirsten Neuschäfer from Gqeberha on her trailblazing achievement of becoming the first woman to win the prestigious Golden Globe round-the-world race.

We are extremely proud of her victory and her example of endurance and tenacity for all South African women.

The Golden Globe Race is considered one of the greatest challenges, sailing around the world alone, with no assistance and without the use of modern technology to battle high winds and rough seas.

Kirsten is a role model and an example for every South African of what one can achieve with the necessary skill, willpower and effort.

We salute her. She is a true South African champion.

To change hope into true freedom, we must all register to vote

The following remarks were delivered by the Interim DA Youth Leader. Nicholas Nyati, at the DA’s Freedom Day event in Nyanga.

Download pictures here, here, here and here

Today we are gathered to celebrate Freedom Day, a moment in our history that was supposed to usher us into prosperity. A moment in our history that was supposed to bring us closer together and open new doors for all of us.

This is meant to be a day to celebrate the gains made towards the realisation of our economic freedom, but unfortunately, we have nothing to celebrate because we are still not free.

We have political freedom but no economic freedom. No access to opportunities. We do not even have freedom of movement because our streets are unsafe.

I am here today to say let us not despair. Masingancami. Amakholwa athi masingamncami uThixo, mna ndifuna ukuthi kuni apha namhlanje masingayincami inkululeko sesiyibona ikanana. Masingalilahli ithemba.

Let us not lose hope.

History teaches us that fighting for freedom is about hope and perseverance.

Hope that tomorrow can and will be better.

It is that hope that inspired freedom fighters like Helen Suzman and unsung heroes like Molly Blackburn. It was these great women that had hope that one day we can be free.

They hoped for a better South Africa for me and you.

This was not built on blind optimism, it was not built on wishful thinking but hope that we can build One Nation with One Future through the values of Freedom, Fairness and Opportunity for all.

I can only imagine how people ridiculed them, how people didn’t believe in them. Imagine being one person in parliament fighting for freedom. That can’t be easy. But Helen Suzman did it. She stood and she fought because of hope.

She had hope in a time when freedom seemed impossible. It was hope in a time of darkness, during the middle of a crime against humanity. The hope was attacked by people who wanted to maintain the status quo. They used everything in their power to try diminishing that hope.

They used money, they used policy, they used their influence. That did not work because our freedom fighters had more than just money, they had the support of the people. They carried the hopes and dreams of all South Africans, and no one could defeat that.

Thirty years into democracy we find ourselves in the same position that people like Helen Suzman found themselves in. A position that begs the question: “Do we accept the status quo and let things remain as they are, or do we come together and strive for true freedom for all”?

Do we maintain the status quo where we still have children using pit toilets in the Eastern Cape, where you send your child to school to seek a better future and they come back as a corpse because they drown in their own feces?

Do we maintain the status quo where our mothers must choose between buying bread or buying milk because they can no longer afford to buy both, because of the rising food prices?

Do we maintain the status quo where police are as good as non-existent because of the useless ministers that keep being deployed?

Do we maintain the status quo where water and electricity are no longer a right but a privilege?

Do we continue to fold our arms when the ANC and EFF are promising us a doomsday in 2024, where they say they will take your house, they will take your job and they will take your freedom?

Or do we come together and unite in our beautiful diversity.

Where we work towards electing a new national government that will give us true freedom.

A government that promises the eradication of pit toilets in our school

A government that promises jobs for every household in South Africa

A government that promises to give you a title deed so that you can own your land.

A government that promises to get the railway working again, so that you can have affordable transport.

A government that will make loadshedding a thing of the past.

That is the choice that we must make.

I choose the second option.

I am here because I want to fight for true freedom. And it is only the DA that can achieve that.

We have a proven track record of good governance, here in the Western Cape. We have a proven track record here in the City of Cape Town. We have a proven track record here in Nyanga. It was the DA government that built this beautiful park.

It is the DA that is continuously building houses for people in Western Cape, it is the DA government that established the LEAP programme.

It is the DA government that gets clean audits every year.

It is the good governance of the DA that attracts people from other provinces to come and seek opportunities in the Western Cape because they understand that under a DA government, they can get Jobs.

But the DA will not achieve this alone. We need you. We need your vote.

It starts now.

To change hope into reality, each person who is eligible, must go out and register to vote. Because if you are not registered, you will not be able to vote in the election next year.

It starts with you. With just one vote.

One family, one community, one province and in 2024 the whole of South Africa

Let us no longer fold our arms and watch a match we are supposed to be playing.

I want you all to stand.

And I want you to repeat after me:

The DA is in it to win it!

Thank you.

Presidential u-turn on International Criminal Court leaves ANC humiliated

Note to editors: Please find attached soundbite by Emma Louise Powell MP.

Yesterday the DA was appalled to learn of  President Ramaphosa’s announcement that South Africa would withdraw as a signatory to the Rome Statute and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

This was later confirmed by the ANC’s Secretary General (SG), Fikile Mbalula during a press briefing.

Putin is accused of overseeing the abduction of Ukrainian children, after Russia illegally invaded this sovereign state. As a signatory to the founding statute of the ICC, South Africa would be obliged to act on an arrest warrant issued by the Court.

Notwithstanding South Africa’s obligations under international law, the ANC yesterday reiterated the President and the SG’s comments on social media, adding further that alleged war criminal Vladimir Putin was indeed “welcome in South Africa at any time”.

In an astonishing u-turn mere hours after these comments were made, the Presidency issued a statement apologising for Ramaphosa’s “erroneous comments”, clarifying that the ANC in fact wishes for South Africa to remain a signatory to the Rome Statute.

This diplomatic blunder is indicative of the deep ideological divisions within the ANC, now on display in vivid technicolor detail as the world watches.

It is also clear that South Africa has no firm foreign policy position to rely on as a guiding light in matters of such grave importance. Rather, our President and Ministers make it up as they go, cow-towing to whichever faction of the ANC shouts the loudest on any given day.

On the back of this embarrassing blunder, Ramaphosa must now assure the global community that South Africa will indeed uphold its legal obligations and arrest Putin should he attend the BRICS Summit in August.

The DA will continue to shine the torch of freedom, justice and democracy as the ANC unravels in real time.

DA efforts lead to victory for Military Veterans

As a result of the relentless efforts by the DA members of the portfolio committee of Defence and Military Affairs, our objections to the Military Veterans pension policy published in December 2022, the week of the ANC’s elective congress, have resulted in new all-inclusive Military Veterans pension regulations.

The draft policy signed by Minister Thandi Modise last year to provide pension benefits to military veterans only considered the non-statutory forces and completely left out statutory forces.

The DA fought tooth and nail and called out the Minister for undermining and failing to uphold the Military Veterans Act which clearly defines that the “Military Veterans means any South African Citizen (1) who rendered military service to any of the military organisations, statutory and non statutory forces which were involved in all sides of South Africa’s liberation War from 1960 to 1994, (2) who became the member of the South African National Defence Force after 1994”.

Whilst the DA appreciates that Minister Modise has acceded to our request, we are still concerned about the failure of the Minister to appoint an Acting Director General in the Department of Military Veterans. The approval of the Draft Regulations means nothing if there’s no DG in the department. Currently there are a number of complaints from the Military Veterans which include them not being able to afford to buy school clothing for their children as there’s no DG to approve payments. Children and dependents of military veterans should not suffer because of the Minister’s failure to appoint an Acting DG.

The Democratic Alliance has written to the Minister, urging her to appoint the Acting Director General without further delay so that the lives of Military Veterans are made easier.

The DA will continue working hard to ensure that all military veterans are treated equally with dignity. We will follow up to ensure that pension benefits for military veterans are rolled out without further delay. The DA is elated that after its attempts, the Statutory Forces will be included in regulations for pension benefits.

COGTA leaves Community Works Programme participants unpaid for work done

Since Tuesday afternoon, the DA has received desperate calls from Community Works Programme (CWP) participants who have not been paid their stipends, as scheduled, by the Department of Cooperative Governance (COGTA).

The participants received an SMS message notifying them that they won’t be receiving payment on the 25th April 2023 because COGTA was in a transitional process after it took a decision not to renew the contracts of implementing agents.

The question that remains is why COGTA failed to put in place contingency measures to pay participants on time when it became clear that they won’t be renewing the contracts of implementing agents? What is clear is that COGTA’s own administrative failures has left tens of thousands of participants, who depend on CWP payments to take care of their basic needs, unable to meet their financial obligations.

The DA calls on the Minister of COGTA, Thembisile Nkadimeng, to immediately provide clarity on the steps that her Department is taking to rectify this unacceptable situation and ensure that payments are made as a matter of urgency. Should there be no active response from the Minister, the DA will approach the Chair of the COGTA committee in Parliament, Fikile Xasa, to ask that he calls on the Minister to come and account before the Committee.

With South Africa’s high unemployment rate, many South Africans now depend on public works programmes, of which the CWP is one, for income to take care of their basic living needs. It is therefore reckless that COGTA has decided to interfere with this source of income, leaving participants unsure how they will buy food for their families.

While the DA campaigned extensively for COGTA to end the use of implementing agents in the roll out of the CWP programme, as we felt that billions of rand were being spent on third parties instead of benefiting recipients, we are disappointed that COGTA failed to put in place contingency measures to ensure that there was no disruption to payments made to participants.

The DA looks forward to a prompt response from the Ministers’ office on the stalled CWP payments and the presentation of a detailed plan that will facilitate a sustainable payment system to stop any future disruptions.

Minister Creecy must account for cheetah death in India

Note to editors: Please find attached soundbite by Hannah Shameema Winkler MP.

The DA has submitted questions to the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, on the export of 12 cheetahs to India, as part of a 10-year cheetah translocation project.

Two of the African cheetahs exported to India – one from South Africa and one from Namibia – have now died in less than a month. The cheetahs were exported, despite widespread apprehension, including the fact that the 2021 non-detrimental findings pertaining to cheetahs had not been adopted.

Section 56 of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA) states that non-detrimental findings for threatened or protected species must undergo a public consultation process before they are adopted.

However, it has emerged that the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) exported the 12 cheetahs to India without the adoption of a formalised non-detrimental finding that has gone through public consultation. Any proposed findings must be published in the Government Gazette, and interested and affected parties must have a period of at least 30 days to make comments. The Minister must also take into consideration any comments received during the public consultation process before making a final decision on the non-detrimental finding.

According to Minister Creecy, ” The DFFE received advice from the scientific authority, which establishes the parameters of export of cheetahs from small private reserves.” The department appears to have violated Section 56 of the NEMBA Act by relying on the advice of the scientific authority rather than a formalised NDF.

Flouting the NEMBA requirements for public consultation in the adoption of non-detrimental findings for protected species can have serious consequences.

These requirements are in place to ensure that all interested and affected parties have a say in decisions that could impact the conservation of threatened or protected species. By not following the proper procedures, the Minister risks undermining the conservation efforts for the cheetah population in South Africa and disregarding the voices of those who could have provided valuable input.

We therefore call on the Minister to provide an explanation for the decision to export the 12 cheetahs to India without a formalised non-detrimental finding that has gone through public consultation. The conservation of South Africa’s biodiversity should always be a top priority, and we hope that the Minister will take the necessary steps to uphold this responsibility.

André de Ruyter hearing: Rejection of parliamentary inquiry by ANC to blame for lack of answers

“Once again, as they have consistently done before, the ANC put up a pretentious performance today in SCOPA to cover up their original sin of voting against a Parliamentary Inquiry into Eskom corruption. If anything, the ANC carries the blame of covering up corruption at Eskom that has hollowed out the entity and plunged the country into darkness.”

The reluctance by former Eskom CEO, André de Ruyter, to divulge the identities of individuals whom he alleged were involved in corruption at Eskom, did not come as a surprise and the blame should be placed squarely on the ANC.

On 23 March 2023, the ANC used its majority in Parliament to vote against a DA motion that called for the establishment of an ad-hoc committee to investigate allegations of rampant corruption and criminal cartels operating at Eskom that involved high-ranking ANC politicians.

Had the ANC not voted against the DA motion, a parliamentary inquiry would have compelled any witnesses in an Eskom corruption probe to comply with section 16 of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliaments and Provincial Legislatures Act, which provides that “…A person who is being examined under oath or amation in terms of section 15 may be required to answer any question put to him or her in connection with the subject 25 of the enquiry..”.

Today’s session before SCOPA was just a hearing and De Ruyter was not participating under oath. This made it impossible for SCOPA to force him to make disclosures which he presumed would place him at variance with the law and open him up to criminal prosecution.

The attempts by some ANC members to propose that De Ruyter takes an oath, to force disclosures from him, midway through the hearing was disingenuous because the hearing was not originally framed as a parliamentary inquiry.

Once again, as they have consistently done before, the ANC put up a pretentious performance today in SCOPA to cover up their original sin of voting against a parliamentary Inquiry into Eskom corruption. If anything, the ANC carries the blame of covering up corruption at Eskom that has hollowed out the entity and plunged the country into darkness.

Going forward, we will use our presence in SCOPA to ask that all the law enforcement agencies that De Ruyter reported the allegations of corruption be summoned to appear before the committee. They must provide an update of their investigations and the identities of the individuals who are being investigated for corrupt activities at Eskom.

Rejecting the DA’s call for a parliamentary inquiry was a lost opportunity to uncover the rot that has taken root at Eskom. Even with the rebuke that Parliament received from the Zondo Commission of inquiry of failing to fulfil its constitutional oversight role, the ANC has once again debased the institution by refusing to investigate the criminal cartels that now hold sway at Eskom.