#HandsOffJoburg: A victory for Joburg, residents, rule of law

Please find attached a soundbite by Dr Mpho Phalatse.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes today’s judgment in the High Court, which upheld the rule of law, and showed Speaker of Council, Cllr Colleen Makhubele, and the ANC acted illegally, dishonestly and unconstitutionally by effectively staging a coup in hastily removing the duly elected Executive Mayor of Johannesburg and Members of the Mayoral Committee.

Judge Raylene Keightley expressed this in her judgment when she stated:

“I find that the Speaker was not lawfully permitted to treat DA Councillors as if they had no right to participate in the Council meeting because they had refused to sign the register. This means that she acted unlawfully, and contrary to the prescripts of the Constitution and the Rules in refusing to permit them to speak; in refusing to consider their request for a caucus break; and for refusing to permit them to object to or to vote against the motion of no confidence. It follows that she also acted unlawfully in treating the motion as being unopposed. Her conclusion that it was unopposed, and hence to refuse to permit any debate on the motion, was fatally tainted with illegality through her unlawful refusal to permit DA Councillors to participate in the proceedings of the Council…”

This judgment should act as a warning to politicians across the country, who are prepared to do anything, even undermine the law, to grab power for the sake of accessing resources, instead of doing the work they were elected to do and delivering quality services to residents.

Over the last few weeks, we have been engaging with various political parties and stakeholders who do not want to see service delivery in Joburg collapse under a corrupt government. Therefore, I will call an immediate meeting of the reinstated Mayoral Committee. The residents of the country’s economic capital deserve a capable and stable government that will repair and rebuild Joburg.

In this time, we will also be reviewing all decisions made by the illegal ANC Executive, especially those that sought to facilitate corrupt acts in the City. The taps of corruption will once again be closed so that we can keep the lights on, water running and residents safe. Residents will once again begin to see and feel a different and better Joburg.

This is indeed a victory for the rule of law and the residents of Joburg.

A Budget to cut food prices, fight poverty, and inspire growth

Please find attached photos here and here.

Today, we presented the DA’s alternative Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) for 2022, amidst a government induced economic crisis of more debt, slow growth, record unemployment, unreliable energy, and the rapidly rising cost of living. Our economy can be rescued and placed on a path to recovery and growth. Our alternative MTBPS sets out how this can be achieved.

South Africa’s post-pandemic recovery has been underperforming on many fronts. Our economy finds itself trapped in a manufactured self-reinforcing vicious cycle of high government budget deficits, unstable energy supply, declining foreign and local private capital formation, declining levels of GDP per capita, uncertainty on private property rights, poor national and local governance, and a vast poorly run public sector dominated by monopolistic state enterprises. The necessary economic reforms require bold policy choices from the Minister.

The DA’s Alternative Budget in February 2022 proposed a fiscal policy platform that would direct South Africa’s economic recovery towards virtuous growth to generate more jobs, reduce public debt, raise living standards, attract foreign and local investment, and alleviate the disproportionate impact of rising inflation on the most vulnerable in our society through responsible fiscal management.

The DA’s 2022 Alternative MTBPS presents how a DA government will:

  • Establish a base to accelerate economic growth by reforming State-Owned Enterprises for private investment and relieving the economy of anti-poor policies;
  • Reverse the upward debt spiral by containing debt and managing expenditure;
  • Fight the high cost of living to protect vulnerable South Africans by introducing a conditional Basic Income Grant, increasing support for small, medium, and micro enterprises, and reducing taxes by cutting the fuel levy and removing VAT from an expanded food basket;
  • Fight corruption by bolstering the capabilities of institutions that combat organized and sophisticated crime.

To realize the above set of expectations, the Minister must from the outset place an emphasis on achieving fiscal sustainability by ensuring that South Africa remains on course to achieve the fiscal targets set in the 2022 February budget.

Establish A Base for Resilient Economic Growth

The structural weaknesses in the South African economy severely constrain its ability to respond to growing international uncertainty. Without deregulating the rigid policy environment, which inhibits economic activity, building economic resilience will not be attainable, inflation will continue to surge, the rate of unemployment will spiral upwards and economic growth, if any, will remain slow. if at all positive.

No More Bailouts for State-Owned Entities

Continuous bailouts to SOE’s have financed failing entities’ debt services, salaries, and current spending on suppliers. Apart from the contribution to employee consumption, there is no

perceivable value added to growth and development in the sectors wherein these entities operate. Minister Godongwana must therefore remain firm on his pledge to not reprioritise budget items to bail out failing SOEs.

Energy Security and Loadshedding

Uncertain energy supply coupled with an unstable political environment has drastically impacted the development of South Africa and severely limited the growth potential of our economy. There has been much talk regarding solutions for South Africa’s electricity crisis, yet after 15 years of living under scarce energy supply, not enough has been done.

Based on this grim energy outlook, the DA reiterates its call for the privatisation of Eskom and the opening up of the energy sector to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) as continued state ownership of the entity has not served to benefit the poor. We reject any plan to transfer Eskom’s debt onto the national balance sheet.

BBBEE (Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment) As a Failed Policy

As a developing country with a massive labour force at its disposal, South Africa should be experiencing continuous virtuous growth. Instead, race-based labour market legislation has facilitated corruption, elite enrichment, and unskilled cadre deployment on an industrial scale. The South African economy and its citizens, especially the poor, have borne the consequences of this distorted labour system. By excluding the full participation of those who are capable, our economy has become far less efficient than it could be.

Reducing Gross National Debt

The 2022 MTBPS must provide a fiscal framework that is focused on reducing the deficit whilst stimulating growth through responsible spending. To ensure that this approach is sustainable, it is important that South Africa urgently addresses the interdependent challenges of a high debt burden, increasing deficit spending, and low economic growth.

Through the implementation of the DA’s economic policy framework, we are able to show how we would bring our national debt under control at an accelerated pace and consolidate South Africa’s fiscal position sooner than the ANC government by generating sufficient economic growth.

Managing Government Expenditure

The increase in debt and deficit spending did not result in increased spending on infrastructure and capital formation – instead, government salaries, specifically the ‘millionaire manager’ class, ballooned beyond what can be considered as sustainable and justifiable.

Support for Vulnerable South Africans

Poor, and vulnerable South Africans continue to shoulder most of the economic burden caused by a sluggish post pandemic recovery. This is compounded by unstable international conditions and hostile government policies that discourage economic participation and increase living costs.

The DA’s intricate policy reform framework enables the financing for the rollout of a vast and sustainable social welfare net. It does so not by spending lavishly, but through generating economic growth that is guided by the DA’s policy.

Basic Income Grant (BIG)

The DA will provide conditional direct income support for the most vulnerable in our society. It will pay for this by accelerating economic growth and generating the necessary revenue. Government seeks to position the provision of a basic income grant as an either or. If it is to provide the grant, it will argue that tax increases, on VAT in particular, will be required. This is a trade-off because government has mismanaged the people’s money and is unable to self-correct its corruption riddled behaviour.

If government implements the requisite policies to spur economic growth and contain debt, a basic income grant becomes viable. If the grant is not funded by growth the large immediate expansion of social transfers would threaten fiscal sustainability and lead to significant employment losses by actually decreasing economic activity and growth.

The DA can budget for the introduction of a conditional Universal Basic Income Grant at R585 per month for adults between the ages of 19 and 59. The grant would be made available on the understanding that it would only be provided when revenue generated from GDP growth is available, as would be the case given the implementation of the DA’s policy framework.

Small-, Medium-, and Micro Enterprises (SMME) support

If the government seeks to alleviate poverty and inequality, the best steps to take are in the direction of reducing the cost of living and creating conditions that are favourable to plentiful employment. This is particularly relevant for the SMME sector.

This approach requires an environment of low-cost compliance with regulations, low tax rates, low costs of transactions and reasonable transport costs. It also requires a transparent marketplace that isn’t dominated by politically dominant cartels and subservient-to-cartels government agencies.

No Increases in Taxes

Our alternative budget in February 2022, set out several proposals for tax relief. Given the current cost of living emergency, tax on fuel and an expanded zero-rated VAT food basket must be considered now, and not deferred until February 2022 We have proposed that the zero-rated food basket be expanded to include bone-in chicken, beef, tinned beans, wheat flour, margarine, peanut butter, baby food, tea, coffee and soup powder.

Commit to the Bolstering of Corruption Busting Institutions

Corrupted economies are not able to function properly because the very nature of corruption disturbs the market and thereby prevents the natural laws of the economy from functioning freely. Given that billions have been directed towards bailing out dysfunctional SOEs, the 2022 MTBPS and 2023 Budget provide the perfect opportunities for the Minister to direct funds that have been misappropriated and wasted throughout other Ministerial departments towards law

enforcement agencies that combat specialized and organized crime such as corruption, money laundering, and terrorist financing. This is especially urgent following the Financial Action Task Force report that identified significant shortcomings in the South African financial system in combatting money laundering and preventing the flow of funds for the financing of terrorism. South Africa faces the real prospect of “greylisting” in February 2023 and this will present even more hardship for struggling South African households.

Conclusion

Our economy is in crisis and households are now facing the devastating consequences of decades of government mismanagement of the public finances. The cost of living is spiralling upward, while government remains fixated on its hopelessly failed economic model.

There is no silver bullet, and the South African economy is surrounded by endless possibilities. If we do not divert from the disastrous path that government has paved, we will never see the growth rates we are so capable of reaching and the people of South Africa will never become everything that we are capable of becoming.

Basic Education keeps shifting pit toilet eradication goal posts

Despite promises from President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) of a special purpose vehicle, to mobilise financial institutions and the private sector, and the Minister for Basic Education, Angie Motshegka’s many platitudes, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) is not doing enough to eradicate pit toilets and develop school infrastructure.

In an answer to a parliamentary question from the DA, the Minister revealed that the Department is in the process “to determine revised timelines … to address pit toilets and dilapidated mud, asbestos and plank schools”.

With the exception of the Western Cape, the Auditor-General of South Africa (AG) highlighted ineffective project implementation and management in all school infrastructure projects, including the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI), stating, “The departments are struggling to provide quality education facilities in a successful and timely manner.”

The President’s special purpose vehicle was not even mentioned in the Department’s annual report, proving that it was nothing but another empty promise.

In March this year, Amnesty International indicated 5 167 schools were still forced to use pit toilets. This while implementing agents that have built schools for 3 times the intended amount get away without any consequences. This takes away money that could be used to get rid of pit toilets, dilapidated asbestos and schools falling apart. This is a grave failure by the Department given that all schools should have been provided with proper sanitation by November 2016, according to regulations relating to the Minimum Norms and Standards published in 2013, and all infrastructure should have been brought into compliance with the Norms and Standards by November 2020.

With goal posts that keeps moving and the last assessment identifying pit toilets done in 2018, it seems the Department has lost its momentum in addressing these serious issues. Oversights by the DA have revealed serious school infrastructure concerns in almost all provinces. Unless the Minister exerts political will to ensure her Department implements necessary measures to meet their own objectives, the learners will continue to suffer in inadequate and dangerous schools.

DA calls for Economic Impact Assessment on Post Bank Amendment Bill

Please find attached soundbite by Dianne Kohler Barnard MP

The Democratic Alliance will be submitting a formal request to the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment Unit (SEIAU) in the presidency asking for a risk assessment on the impact of the new Post Bank Amendment Bill, which is currently before Parliament. This Bill should be put on hold until this assessment is done, as the committee is currently trying to steamroll it through parliament.

Tomorrow, 25 October, the Portfolio Committee of Communications and Digital Technologies will engage in public hearings on the problematic Post Bank Amendment Bill. The lack of interest or knowledge of the Bill is however concerning, with only a single comment received, in spite of numerous phone calls made to entities to provide input .

This section 75 Bill aims to bring in a bank controlling company as the sole owner of the bank, rather than The South African Post Office, which considering its truly dreadful financial status, shouldn’t be a bad thing. However, this can only be seen as a back-door creation of a State Bank, following swiftly on the heels of the attempt to take over the Reserve Bank.

Not only will this Bill incur unnecessary costs as well as a substantial burden on the fiscus, but there is also no guarantee that this bank will have the required financial backing. It has all the markings of another failed State Owned Enterprise.

The main financial implications of the Bill are predicted to be in the form of an entirely new board, CEO, CFO and ancillary positions and committees. Most worryingly, we have yet to have sight of a feasibility study on whether the new state-owned entity will function effectively and profitably or whether it will be another massive burden to the state. Yet the Committee is scheduled to move ahead with hearings and deliberations.

The DA is concerned with the Bill for the following reasons:

  • There is no rationale provided for the Bill relating to the need for a state-controlled bank as far as it responds to a market failure.
  • The bank will extend credit to high-risk profile individuals or institutions without incorporating the necessary safeguards to match the risk profile
  • There is no separation of powers between the Minister and the Board.
  • The board of the bank-controlled company is de facto the board of the bank company.

There is no doubt that should the above occur, this bank will inevitably become another failed, unsustainable state-owned entity which will need government bailouts.

In the event of it collapsing, it will in the end be the Treasury who has to bail yet another SOE. This Post Bank Bill is a mere strategy by the ANC to avoid the strict regulations required for a banking license with the reserve bank.

Did we learn nothing from the VBS debacle?

The Democratic Alliance strongly opposes this bill, which must be put on hold until these serious concerns are addressed, and a social impact assessment by the DPME has been completed .

16 years of inaction puts South Africa at severe risk of fuel shortages

Please find English and Afrikaans soundbites by Kevin Mileham MP.

Since the release of the Moerane Commission of Inquiry Report into the fuel crisis that occurred in South Africa November/December 2005, the ANC government has failed to implement the strategic refined fuel reserves recommendation, placing the country at severe risk of fuel shortages should there be a major disruption in the fuel supply chain.

Following the just ended Transnet strike, which saw major disruptions to ports and transport networks, fuel industry players have warned that South Africa is perilously close to a major fuel supply crisis due to the unavailability of refined fuel stocks.

The DA will be submitting an urgent question to Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe (see attached) to inform the country about the status of South Africa’s fuel reserves. We will further seek to ensure that he provides us with any documentation detailing any action plans that were taken by the Department, since 2006, to effect the implementation of the strategic refined fuel reserve recommendation by the Moerane Commission.

In 2006, the then Minister of Minerals and Energy, Buyelwa Sonjica, appointed a 11 member panel, headed by Advocate Marumo Moerane, to review the circumstances that resulted in fuel supply shortages in November/December 2005. The panel’s terms of reference were to “establish the causes of the fuel supply shortages, formulate and present recommendations to the Minister, which will enable the government and other stakeholders to take appropriate steps to prevent a recurrence of the fuel crisis.”

Having established that the country does not hold strategic refined product inventories, the Commission recommended that the government should review its policy on strategic fuel stocks. Through public/private partnerships, the Commission advised that oil companies and the synthetic fuel plants should be obliged to hold prudent commercial levels of refined product stock. 16 years later, this has not been implemented.

Disruptions to the supply of refined liquid fuel (arising from inadequate port infrastructure, ongoing labour action, and a shortage of refining capacity) will have far reaching consequences to the economy and social order. The immediate impact will be the upending of supply chains, which will severely constrain productivity in the economy. Consumers could potentially face a food supply crisis as food wholesalers and distributors straggle to transport food stocks where they are needed.

The ANC government has had 16 years to implement the Moerane Commission findings but has essentially chosen to ignore them. They must provide immediate answers for this inaction and the steps that will be taken in the short to medium term before South Africa is forced to contend with a fuel supply crisis. Any further failure to resolve this situation will ultimately result in ANC-shedding in 2024.

DA condemns Ramaphosa’s refusal to act on Zondo finding that cadre deployment is unconstitutional

Please find attached a soundbite by Dr Leon Schreiber MP.

The DA condemns in the harshest terms President Cyril Ramaphosa’s failure to uphold the finding by the State Capture Commission that ANC cadre deployment is unconstitutional and illegal, as well as his rejection of the Commission’s recommendation for the establishment of a permanent and independent Standing Appointment and Oversight Committee to vet suitable candidates for appointment to state-owned enterprises.

If Ramaphosa was at all serious about ending state capture, he would have told the nation last night that the corrupt practice of cadre deployment will come to an end “with immediate effect.” A President who cared more about South Africa than about his disgraced political party would have abolished this practice because, as the Commission itself confirmed, “state capture has been facilitated by the appointment of pliant individuals to powerful positions in state entities.”

Instead, in both his address to the nation and in the embarrassingly waver-thin document he submitted to Parliament, Ramaphosa failed to even mention the fact that the Commission had confirmed the DA’s long-held position that “it is unlawful and unconstitutional for a President of this country and any Minister, Deputy Minister or Director-General or other government official, including those in parastatals, to take into account recommendations of the ANC Deployment Committee.”

The only logical conclusion is that, by protecting the ANC cadre deployment committee which he chaired during the Zuma presidency, Ramaphosa has deliberately chosen to ignore one of the single most important findings emanating from the Commission’s four years of work, which cost taxpayers over R1 billion, in order to protect his political party’s patronage network.

In his report to Parliament, Ramaphosa admitted that “A key mechanism of state capture was the strategic positioning of individuals in positions of power through the abuse of public sector appointment and dismissal processes.” Despite therefore being aware that appointment processes were corrupted by his party’s evil practice of cadre deployment, the President chose to turn a blind eye – just like he did for all those years while he was Jacob Zuma’s deputy.

By failing to act against cadre deployment, Cyril Ramaphosa is fatally undermining the State Capture Commission’s recommendations on fixing appointment processes. The Commission recommended the creation of an independent new Standing Appointment and Oversight Committee to ensure that any person nominated to a SOE board meets the “professional, reputational and eligibility requirements for such a position.” Although it is carefully worded, Ramaphosa effectively rejects this recommendation in his report to Parliament.

Whereas the Commission recommended a permanent and independent Committee to vet all appointments and investigate misconduct by SOE board members, Ramaphosa only plans to create a far weaker “guide” for independent panels to “play a role in nominating suitable candidates to the relevant minister.” This clearly suggests that, beyond window dressing, Cyril Ramaphosa has no intention of weakening the grip his fellow ANC cadres hold over appointment decisions.

Most fundamentally, even if the Zondo Commission’s recommendation for a Standing Appointment and Oversight Committee were implemented, the continued existence of ANC cadre deployment would undermine its very purpose. For as long as the ANC continues to wield the unconstitutional and illegal power to instruct ministers and other officials to appoint loyal ANC cadres to positions of power, state capture will continue unabated.

Cyril Ramphosa sent an unambiguous message to the people of South Africa last night. His failure to take serious action against state capture means that he is either too compromised to uproot cadre deployment and end state capture, or simply too cowardly. That is why the DA will now do it for him.

On 23 and 24 January 2023, the DA will see Ramaphosa in court to abolish his beloved system of cadre deployment corruption.

President Ramaphosa fails to lead on Zondo Commission recommendations; Parliament must act as last line of defense

Please find attached a soundbite by Siviwe Gwarube MP.

The President’s address last night has confirmed that it is indeed Parliament that must act as the last line of defense against State Capture. The President simply provided an analysis of the Zondo Judicial Commission Report instead of stating what the executive he leads intends to do to insulate government processes from grand theft again.

Much of what the President said was existing work that is already being done by law enforcement agencies. Nothing was said about bolstering their capacity to do the kind of investigative work that is needed to prosecute those who plundered public money.

More glaringly, the President completely avoided making any announcements about cabinet ministers who have been implicated in State Capture and how he will be holding them to account. This is firmly within his mandate and yet he made a vague mention about looking into this.

The reality is that roughly R1 billion and six years have been spent on this commission, yet little action will be taken.

This is why Parliament must finally affirm its role as an independent arm of state that is constitutionally obliged to hold government to account.

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula, has effectively abdicated Parliament’s responsibility to this process and stated that the institution should wait for the President to table his implementation report. This is despite the fact that Parliament did not need to wait for the President before undertaking a review on its oversight mechanisms.

During this commission, Parliament was found wanting on how it holds the executive to account and how the ANC uses its numbers in the Houses of Parliament to derail Parliaments work.

It is entirely unclear what the Speaker of Parliament expected from a politically compromised President who will do everything – including refusing to hold those responsible for state capture to account – to stay politically viable in his party ahead of its elective conference in December.

Parliament should be above these kinds of political considerations. All parties should unite behind strengthening the countability functions of the institution so that we never see this kind of abuse and criminal capture of public resources again.

The DA will now be writing to the Speaker to place this on the agenda of the Programming Committee to be held this week. An action plan must be developed to action the wide-ranging recommendations of this judicial commission. Much to their political inconvenience, the Speaker and the ANC in Parliament cannot wish this process away.

The DA will not rest until we firewall the public service from the greed of politicians and those who are politically connected.

An Open Letter to Julius Malema

Dear Julius

I’m writing to you because I never get to see you in Parliament. I hope you are well and a little less angry than you were when you gave your speech at your Western Cape Conference a week ago.

I must say, I wouldn’t normally listen to issues you raise at your conferences, but this particular speech was brought to my attention.

I was not expecting the fire and brimstone speech as the last time I saw you, you were looking so happy and relaxed in Ibiza (although a little passé for people our age).

I do realise you were invited so you couldn’t exactly dictate the direction of the yacht yourself. You looked so happy, bottles of Cristal, all white super cool outfits, Gucci slides. It really was the champagne and caviar dream. I was delighted to see you enjoying Europe and the offerings it provides, and I was hoping it would change your incredibly angry mood and that the “jol” you had was going to change your outlook on life.

However, you came back to South Africa and almost immediately started telling members of your party that you were going to seize power at any cost. You spoke about killings that would be inevitable, land that would be seized and how nothing and nobody would stop you. Perhaps it was the reality shock of realising that the people you claim to represent will never be able to even dream of the excesses you so frequently enjoy.

Now you see, that kind of talk really gets me angry. You may or may not have noticed that I have been made the Shadow Minister of State Security and the National Security Advisor to the Leader of the Official Opposition, so this is what I’m going to do:

I think it is time for me and you to have a chat. I think we need to sit down, in a public arena, and talk these issues out in full.

I need to know how and why you think you will seize power (by-election results are showing you are losing a lot of support), I want to know whose throat you want to slit and most importantly, I want to know why you talk about war and murder in what is already a volatile political landscape.

Why all the hate? Why all the violence? I and millions of other South Africans have had enough. I personally believe you do nothing positive in the political arena and I think it’s time you are told, to your face, you are no Idi Amin, you are no Muammar Gaddafi, you are no Fidel Castro or Che Guevara and certainly no Benito Mussolini. The fact that these dictators and fascists are your idols is deeply disturbing and says everything we need to know about you.

I have given up on the Human Rights Commission as nothing ever happens there. I’m not going to lay charges against you, because it takes more time than I can stomach for investigations to take place, so I’m going to send the video of your speech to the South African Security Agency, which as you know, now falls within the office of the President. I’m going to do this because one of their mandates is the following, and I quote:

“To provide the government with intelligence on domestic and foreign threats or potential threats to national stability, the constitutional order, and the safety and wellbeing of our people.”

Some of the areas the SSA focuses on are:

  • Terrorism
  • Sabotage
  • Subversion
  • Espionage
  • Organised crime

As you can see, a lot of what you told your supporters you intend to do falls within these categories. I throw in “organised crime” because I’m still waiting to hear what is happening with your bridge tender and the whole VBS saga.

I realise you are much more accustomed to me taking on those other two little guys in your party, the one who brings you ice and the other one who wears what I think are cycling gloves to Parliament and wants to Kung Fu fight me all the time.

I have fought all forms of oppression, and I make you this solemn promise, I will fight any kind of oppression, violence and terrorism you try to incite.

So, I realise this letter has been a bit long to read, but let me sum it up for you:

  1. I’m reporting you to the South African Security Agency for subversion, terrorism, sabotage and organized crime and;
  2. I’m challenging you to a public chat, debate if you will, so we can clear up what you mean by all your threats and utterances.

I look forward to your answer and I really look forward to our chat.

We are two years apart in age, I was born in 1979, you in 1981, so I’m sure we will have a lot to talk about and ventilate fully.

I do however want you to know, I think your utterances are appalling and think that if an average South African said what you did, they would be in jail, so I’m not playing around here. I intend to do everything in my power to expose you for the fraud that I think you are, and let South Africans see for themselves that the ONLY card you have to play is your hatred of white people and in fact, hatred for anyone who doesn’t think exactly like you do. I also want you to know, absolutely nothing scares me, so as I’ve said before, bring it on!

Yours faithfully

Natasha Mazzone

Shadow Minister of State Security

National Security Advisor to the Leader of the Opposition

ActionSA Breaks Ranks with Coalition in Joburg

Merely 24 hours after reaching an agreement with coalition partners in Joburg, ActionSA broke ranks and decided to follow its own path with its own agenda.

This happened during the Joburg council meeting held on Friday 21 October when ActionSA nominated its own candidates for crucial committee chairperson positions competing with coalition partners opposing the ANC. This despite agreeing to support coalition partners for specific portfolio positions just 24 hours earlier.

An example of this was the agreement to support the IFP for the position of Chairperson of Committees. ActionSA nominated their own candidate despite the agreement, forcing the IFP to withdraw its nomination.

ActionSA continued to oppose the coalition against the ANC in further votes including the one for Chief Whip of council where it opposed the DA candidate.

It is clear that ActionSA has no intention of saving Johannesburg from the ANC-led Coalition of the Corrupt and that they will no longer share the vision and principles of the Coalition of Hope.

This treachery is a slap in the face of all those coalition partners who, along with the residents of the City of Johannesburg, want a government that will govern in the interests of the people. It seems that ActionSA’s much proclaimed decision to not work with the ANC was either never true or very short lived. In the end, ActionSA’s hypocrisy has been laid bare.

The Democratic Alliance remains committed to the work of the coalition to rid Johannesburg of the ANC coalition of corruption and replace it with a government with values, principles and that believes in the rule of law. Those chasing little more than power, position and publicity should note that the citizens of this fine city see them for what they are.

#HandsOffJoburg: Another hard knock for Joburg residents as Council elects new Committee Chairpersons

Following the removal of Section 79 Oversight Committee Chairpersons at Thursday’s meeting of the Johannesburg Council, the House, presided over by the Speaker, Cllr Colleen Makhubele, elected Cllr Lloyd Philips of GOOD Party as the Chairperson of Chairpersons this afternoon, thus further entrenching the corrupt ANC’s programme of capturing and collapsing the City.

ActionSA elected to go into this Council meeting on their own, therefore opening the doors wider for the corrupt ANC cabal to elect their candidates.

As the DA, IFP, Freedom Front Plus (FF+), ACDP and UIM, we had elected to go into this meeting as a bloc, having consulted with ActionSA, with the intention of halting the ANC from getting their members elected to hold key legislature oversight structures.

With the ANC currently fully at the helm of the Executive and Legislature, we find it difficult to see a scenario where corruption does not become the order of business in Joburg.

The fight for Joburg, its residents, and the Rule of Law is being waged on all fronts, as we await the imminent judgment by the High Court declaring the removal of the Executive Mayor on 30 September 2022 to be unconstitutional, invalid, and illegal, as well as the decisions taken subsequent to that.

This fight is not for positions or salaries but rather to ensure that the disastrous and anti-service delivery programme of the ANC does not once again find ground in Joburg.

As the DA, we will continue this fight until all avenues have been exhausted; all for the sake of residents and service delivery. In truth, this is not the DA’s fight but the residents’ fight.