DA officially opens Nkululeko House – the Party’s new Headquarters in Gauteng

The following remarks were made today by DA Leader, Mmusi Maimane, at the official opening of the Party’s new Campaign HQ in Bruma, Johannesburg. Maimane was joined by several members of the Federal Executive (FedEx). Please find attached pictures here, here, and here.

Fellow South Africans,

Today we officially open the Democratic Alliance’s new Campaign Headquarters (HQ) here in the heart of Gauteng, as we intensify the battle for victory in this province ahead of next year’s General Elections.

Named “Nkululeko House” in isiZulu, or Freedom House in English, this building will serve as the political and operational headquarters of the DA leading up to 2019 and beyond.

Since the party’s formation in 2000, our Federal Head Office has been in Cape Town, in a city and a province in which the DA enjoys considerable support. And for the past decade and a half this has served the party well, with our local and provincial governments – as well as our Parliamentary Operation – having all been in close proximity to the party’s Federal Head Office.

However, as a growing party now governing for over 16 million South Africans, our strategic footprint requires expansion. Indeed, the DA’s growth over the past few years has shattered the myth that the DA is a “regional party”, and this ought to be reflected in our operational structure. We are now well and truly a party for all South Africans, with a national footprint in towns, cities and provinces across the nation.

Nkululeko House will now be the party’s Campaign HQ, and home to large contingent of the DA’s Federal staff structures including the National Campaign “War Room”, the Polling and Research Department, the National Call Centre, the Leader’s Office, the Gauteng Provincial Office, and the party’s Corporate Services Directorate. It will also house a media briefing room, where national DA press conferences will be held. In the long run, we do hope that this building be too small to house our federal operation as we continue to grow.

Fellow Democrats,

The opening of Nkululeko House signals our intention loud and clear. Both its name and its location speak to the DA’s vision for the future. We plan to govern this province come 2019, and we plan to grow our support base in every other province across the country. We strive to become the leaders of a coalition government that will take over from the ANC in national government and bring true freedom to the almost 10 million unemployed South Africans, and over half the nation who still live in poverty. It is this fight for freedom on behalf of those who have been left behind that drives our organisation each day.

It is no secret that Gauteng is the great battleground come election time next year. As economic hub of our nation, it remains our utmost priority to wrestle power away from the ANC in this province. If we can do that – which I wholeheartedly believe we can – we can bring the DA’s brand of good, clean, job-creating governance to this province, ensuring that jobs are created, services are delivered, and the lives of those left behind are drastically improved.

In the last National Elections in 2014, the ANC held onto power in this province by the skin of their teeth. They were 3% away from losing Gauteng. That election began the province-wide movement to bring real change. In the 2016 Local Government Elections, the people chose new DA-led governments in the City of Johannesburg, and in the capital city of Tshwane. And I believe in 2019, the people of Gauteng will reject this ANC that brought them E-tolls, Esidimeni and unemployment, and choose a brand-new beginning for this beautiful province.

The people of Johannesburg and Tshwane can already see the change brought about in those metros since DA-led coalition governments took over 20 months ago. We want to continue that change, and bring it to Gauteng, and to the whole of South Africa.

As we go to our Federal Congress, to be held this coming weekend in Tshwane, we are confident we will elect leadership and adopt bold policies that will provide South Africans with a real alternative at the ballot box in 2019. This will be the biggest Congress in the DA’s history, with over 2000 delegates from across the country to attend.

An array of resolutions will be considered by delegates, focusing on tackling endemic poverty and rampant unemployment and joblessness. Congress will consider, deliberate and vote on resolutions on the economy, healthcare, crime, housing, social grants, education, as well as on national tragedies such as Marikana and Esidimeni.

The fight for an alternative, post-ANC South Africa is in full swing. We are moving towards the creation a shared future for all South Africans – a united, democratic, prosperous and non-racial South Africa.

I thank you.

Hands off Mayor Trollip – Mmusi Maimane

Sign the petition if you support a DA-led Nelson Mandela Bay: https://NMBprogress.co.za
We are here today to say: Nelson Mandela Bay can never go back to the looting and neglect it suffered under the ANC. We are here to put the people of this city first.
And we are not alone in this fight. This is confirmed by a letter signed by leaders from every major church group in NMB in which they say: “We do not support the current political initiative to remove the Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay. We believe it will have the catastrophic effect of seriously destabilising our metro at this critical juncture.”
The people of NMB want accountability from their government. They want service delivery, they want jobs and they want to feel safe in their communities. And they will not get this from the ANC.
For many years this great city of Nelson Mandela Bay was under attack. Not an attack from an outside force, but an attack from its very own government.
Under the ANC, every project, every tender, every procurement contract was simply a chance for someone connected to the government to make money. Everything had a double price tag – one price for the project and another for the profit of the corrupt official.
 

DA Leader Mmusi Maimane greets the people of Nelson Mandela Bay

Billions of Rands meant for the poorest people of the city ended up in the pockets of cadres and their crooked cronies. In the process education, health, housing, infrastructure and basic service delivery were all left in ruin.
In the absence of law and order, violent crime skyrocketed and gangs took over large parts of the metro. Life for the people of NMB got worse here by the day.
The ANC had successfully carried out the most complete plunder of a city our country has ever seen.
When the DA campaigned here in 2016, this is what we promised to fix. We said: All we care about is returning this city to its people – improving services, making neighbourhoods safer and bringing back jobs.
We also said that whoever shared these priorities could be our partners in rebuilding Nelson Mandela Bay.
It turns out this is exactly what the people wanted here, as more people voted for the DA in 2016 than for any other party. The message was loud and clear: The days of the corrupt ANC here in NMB are done.
Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Athol Trollip addresses residents at the Babs Madlakane Hall in KwaNobuhle.

But it wasn’t just the people of NMB who showed the ANC the door. We had the support of most of the opposition parties too, and particularly the EFF.
Julius Malema made it very clear back then that his mission was to help save NMB from the ANC. This is what he said just after the election results were announced:

“We are the biggest enemy of the ANC. The ANC will not get a single vote from the EFF. We will vote for the opposition because the ANC must be removed from power.”

But now, barely 19 months later, Julius Malema has made another of his trademark flip-flops. He has forgotten everything he said about the ANC here in NMB, and he has made a deal with them to put them back into power.
Yes, the same ANC that bled this city dry is now being offered the keys to the money box by the man who claimed to be its biggest enemy.
Now if there was a reason for getting rid of the DA here, I could maybe understand this. If the DA had failed to deliver on its promise to the people, or if the DA had turned out to be corrupt like the ANC, I could understand why Julius Malema would consider this.
But there is no such reason. In Malema’s own words, he is doing this to get rid of Mayor Athol Trollip simply because he is white. He doesn’t even try to hide his racism any longer.
47% of the people here voted for the DA. Only 5% voted for the EFF. The vast majority of people here don’t care for Malema’s racist rants. They don’t care for his personal vendettas.
And the people certainly do not want the ANC back in charge here.


Yesterday the ANC councillor Andile Lungisa appeared in court on charges relating to violence in the Council Chamber, where he smashed a water jug over a Mayoral Committee Member’s head. That’s who the ANC and the EFF want to let back in here.
Fellow South Africans, 19 months is not a long time in government. But when you have a point to prove about serving the people, 19 months is more than enough. Since August 2016, this DA government under Mayor Athol Trollip has shown the previous ANC government up for the rotten, thieving mob it is.
Mayor Trollip’s effect is visible in every single aspect of governance in this city.
NMB now has, for the first time ever, a Metro Police Force with two satellite stations – one of them right here in Kwanobuhle. These Metro cops don’t only police routine law enforcement, they have also made arrests in significant crimes like murder and attempted murder.
The city also now has Shotspotter technology in several crime hotspots, which detects gunshots and dispatches police to the exact location. Seventeen gang-related arrests in recent months have been linked to information provided by this new technology.
Mayor Trollip has made it his mission to clean up this city – both in terms of rubbish on the street and corruption in its administration. He has authorised multiple investigations and prosecutions into money lost to corruption under the previous administration.
Projects that lay dormant for years under the ANC have been resurrected under the DA. Title deeds have been handed to residents, facilities like the Thusong Customer Care Centre in Motherwell have been completed and public spaces like Seyesi Square in KwaZakhele have been developed.
Here in Kwanobuhle this DA government has installed lighting along the main road, fixed water leaks and painted road markings. And that’s just the start.
In a very short space of time the DA has made a massive difference to the way this city operates. And all of this progress is now threatened by one racist demagogue on a power trip. Julius Malema doesn’t mind taking NMB back to the days of looting under the ANC as long as he and his 5% party get to win their personal power game.
Is this what the people of NMB want? Is this what the people of NMB deserve? Absolutely not!
The people of NMB want opportunities to get ahead in life. They want access to jobs and they want to own their land. They don’t want to become permanent tenants on land that belongs to the state, which is what the EFF and ANC want.
The DA will not take this lying down. We will fight this hostile takeover of NMB with everything we have. We will continue to say: Hands off Mayor Trollip! Let him serve the people!
And then, in next year’s election, we will put this matter beyond all doubt when we kick both the ANC and the EFF out of NMB for good.
The people of Nelson Mandela Bay are united behind Mayor Athol Trollip and a DA-led Nelson Mandela Bay

DA welcomes Abrahams decision to prosecute Zuma

The DA welcomes the decision by the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Shaun Abrahams, to proceed with the criminal trial of Jacob Zuma. This is a victory for all who have fought for years for Jacob Zuma to face accountability for his crimes. That accountability starts now.
We launched this review application in 2009, after the 783 charges were dropped illegally and unconstitutionally. It is a fight that we have been waging in the Courts for almost nine years and today’s decision is a vindication of the decision to challenge the dropping of the charges. Now there must be no further delay in starting the trial. The witnesses are ready, the evidence is strong, and Jacob Zuma must finally have his day in court.
We will brief our legal teams immediately to oppose any effort by Zuma to delay this any further, including his application for a stay of prosecution.
We will also fight to ensure the public do not have to carry the costs of Zuma’s defence, as they have already done for the past 9 years.
I thank all of the legal teams who have waged this ‘lawfare’ over the years. Their effort and dedication has defeated Zuma’s endless delay tactics.
When Shabir Shaik was found guilty on charges of corruption and fraud in relation to the Arms Deal on 7 April 2005, Judge Squires’ judgment made it clear that Zuma must also be charged, and that the evidence for this was “convincing and really overwhelming”.
Shaik and Zuma’s trials should never have been separated in the first place and the decision to reinstate the charges should not have been a difficult one. Zuma’s day in court is years overdue and the NPA’s prosecutions team have said that there was a strong case on the merits and the only reason charges were dropped was because of the infamous Spy Tapes.
The then NDPP made the decision to withdraw charges against Zuma because he felt that the Spy Tapes had prejudiced Zuma and had made the trial unfair toward him. The DA challenged this decision in court and this is what we have been fighting for the past nine years, which has now been vindicated.

South Africa must prioritise medical skills development

The following speech was delivered today in the National Assembly today by Haniff Hoosen MP, DA Shadow Minister of Home Affairs, during the debate on accreditation of foreign trained doctors by the HCPSA.
Madam speaker
The plight of these medical doctors is not a new discovery.
This is unfortunately a situation that has been prevailing in our country for many many years now.
Getting access to medical training in South Africa is nearly impossible for many. And it seems like it will stay like this for decades to come.
Looking ahead, we will be short of more than 2000 doctors and 11 000 nurses by 2020.
We have had a shortage of medical practitioners in the past, we have a shortage in the present and we will have a shortage of doctors in the future.
Because we have a government that is big on plans and conferences, but short on implementation. And this is posing the greatest difficulty for the people we need most – young, aspirant doctors.
Take the story of a young student I spoke with recently from Pietermaritzburg in KZN.
Having received five distinctions in high school, he was rejected by almost every medical university in the country.
Determined to achieve his dreams of becoming a doctor, he applied to several countries elsewhere in the world. And he was welcomed with open arms by institutions in Maurius, the Philippines and China.
Today he is in his last year of study and will soon qualify. But his misery does not end there, his country will not allow him to complete is clinical electives in his own country, so it seems that all his struggles will come to nothing.
This is the sad reality of thousands of young South Africans.
But madam Speaker, the plight of medical students raises a much bigger problem in our country.
Their plight is merely an indication of the huge skills shortage that we have in South Africa. We are unable to attract the required skills that we need to build our economy and creates jobs. Which is why millions of young people are still out there, struggling to get by.
This is a direct result of our prohibitive policies and systems, coupled with our inability to manage the skills deficit in the country.
Over the last few years, I have received dozens of enquiries and complaints from skilled people who struggle to secure work visas in South Africa.
The costs are too prohibitive and the process is frustrating.
Four years ago, just under two thousand foreign nationals qualified for critical skills permit to work in the country.
Three years later, that figure dwindled to just over 700. It is clear that the numbers are on the decline and our ability to attract critical skills into our country is fading.
We have a massive shortage of skills in the country, yet we make it extremely difficult to attract these skills from other countries into South Africa,
But we are the masters at attracting unskilled immigrants.
We have a border with no fence that anyone can just walk across. An unknown number of mostly unskilled and undocumented immigrants are entering the country and are employed in labour intensive industries across the country.
The employment of illegal and undocumented immigrants has a direct impact on our job creation abilities as a country and this is an area of focus that must be addressed. Far too many companies employ undocumented immigrants and simply pay a fine when they get caught. This is a clearly an insufficient response to a massive challenge.
Hon Speaker, Minister Gigaba and his department are failing in their responsibility to tighten our borders and reduce the high number of undocumented immigrants in our country. They are also ineffective in clamping down on people who employ undocumented immigrants.
Unskilled people simply walk into our country undetected while medical practitioners who want to come and work in our country have to jump over many hurdles to get a proper visa.
If we continue in this direction, we will continue to have a reduced number of skilled people coming into the country, and a higher number of unskilled foreign workers pouring in.
To fix this:
We MUST secure our borders and fix our fence, making it almost impossible for people to enter the country illegally
We MUST make it as easy as possible for those who wish to enter legally, with an emphasis on skilled workers.
We MUST also take stronger sanctions for people who employ immigrants illegally.
Madam Speaker, we call upon Minister Gigaba approach his job as a public servant of the people with the seriousness it deserves, rather than the apathy and contempt he has displayed in the recent past. The health and well-being of millions of South Africans depends on it.

Register to vote for total change

The following remarks were made today by DA Leader, Mmusi Maimane, during a registration drive in Kaalfontein, Johannesburg. Maimane was joined by the Mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba, and DA Regional Chair, Heinrich Volmink.
It’s great to be here in Gauteng, the economic heartland of our beautiful nation. Gauteng’s residents are leading our country in more ways than one.
The people of Gauteng are leading South Africa in terms of economic activity, innovation and growth.
The people of Gauteng also are leading in living out the dream of a rainbow nation. In restaurants, workplaces, shopping malls, places of worship – wherever you look you see the dream of ’94, a non-racial South Africa, integrated South Africa. This we must celebrate.
But, most important of all, the people of this province are leading our nation in voting for a better government and brighter future for themselves.
Gauteng has showed that change only comes at the ballot box, where citizens show the powerful and corrupt politicians who is in charge.
We are calling on every resident to register to vote this weekend.
We have begun the movement for change here on Gauteng soil. Let’s continue this in 2019 – and that begins by registering this weekend.
The power to shape the future is in your hands!
In the last General Election in 2014, the ANC held onto power in this province by the skin of their teeth. They were 3% away from losing Gauteng. That election began the province-wide movement to bring real change.  In the 2016 Local Government Elections, the people chose new governments in the City of Johannesburg, as well as in the capital city of Tshwane.
This was a seminal moment in our young democracy, and showed politicians from across the spectrum that we are a nation of active citizens who will unapologetically hold the government to account. As leader of the DA, I want to both welcome and encourage this core tenet of democracy, and urge citizens to fearlessly hold every political party to account at the ballot box – the DA included. The power is and always will be in the hands of the people, not politicians.
Over the past year and a half, the people of this province have chosen change, and have seen the fruits of this change. Here in Johannesburg, under Mayor Herman Mashaba, the DA-led government has begun to bring total change and roll back the over two decades of neglect.
Within 18 months, the DA-led government has:

  • Uncovered close to R17 billion in fraud and corruption, with almost 100 employee suspensions, 13 employee resignations, and 9 dismissals for involvement in corrupt and suspicious dealings;
  • Allocated R105 million for the installation and repair of broken traffic signals throughout the City. This year alone, 89 intersections were re-cabled and are now joint free;
  • allocated R10 million for the purpose of establishing opportunity centres which will provide much needed training for prospective entrepreneurs and job seekers;
  • set aside R12 million to provide for on-the-job artisan training for 340 youths within the City;
  • More than doubled the previous sanitation budget, increasing it from R17 million to R40 million;
  • Saved almost R500 million through the introduction of cost-cutting measures focused on reducing self-promoting advertising, marketing, domestic and international travel, consulting and professional fees, and conferences and seminars;
  • Rolled out extended operating hours at 13 clinics across Johannesburg, including clinics in Princess Park, Freedom Park, Randburg, Protea Glen, El Dorado Park and Zandspruit;
  • Extended operating hours at 10 of our regional libraries – some open until as late as 22h00. Libraries in Jabavu, Orange Farm and Diepsloot being but a few;
  • Working towards ensuring that a cleaner living environment is not reserved for just a few by setting aside R482 million within Pikitup’s budget for cleaning informal settlements over the next three financial years;
  • Allocated R1.9 billion to upgrade 50 informal settlements in the medium term;
  • Acquired three 3 new fire engines to increase the City’s ability to secure the safety of our residents; and
  • Launched a brand new K9-Narcotics Unit to tackle hijackings, robberies, bombs, kidnappings and drug-related incidents.

Those who are elected into public office are servants of the people. And for as long as I am the leader of the DA, our party will always be a service delivery orientated party. We ask you to lend us your vote for five years, and if you feel we have failed you, vote us out. That is democracy. And that is why I am so passionate about getting every South African out to register to vote in next year’s election.
In order to register, citizens must visit their nearest voting station with their ID document to register to vote, or amend voting details. For any further assistance, you can visit www.da.org.za, or send a WhatsApp to 084 000 2019.
Voters can also verify their details online at check.da.org.za, and also locate their nearest voting station should they need to reregister. Additionally, voters will be able to check and correct their voter details including their address, and first-time voters will be able to register to vote.
 

We will #DefeatDayZero for 2018 if we continue along current levels of usage

The following statement was delivered today by DA Leader, Mmusi Maimane, at a press briefing at the Party’s Federal Head Office in Cape Town.
Just less than two months ago, the City of Cape Town was in a dire position. We were told that due to the worst drought the city had seen in over 100 years, its water supply was near depletion, and “Day Zero” – the day on which the taps would turn off – was set to arrive on 12 April 2018.
We were facing an unprecedented crisis.
As Leader of the DA, I was not satisfied with the way the city had responded to the drought crisis up to that point. While the responsibility for bulk water supply is inarguably the responsibility of the National Government, residents of Cape Town rightly felt that their local government had not communicated openly with them. Many residents blamed the DA, and as Cape Town is a DA government, it was important that I intervened to ensure that residents received the level of service and honest government that they expect from the DA.
I therefore decided to take political control of the situation, appoint a Drought Crisis Team – made up of the individuals sitting on this panel today – and commit to doing everything possible to fight this water crisis, on all fronts.
When this decision was taken, our dam levels were sitting at 27.2%, with only 17.2% of usable water left. We made one thing clear: to fight this water crisis and Defeat Day Zero, we had to band together and mobilise public support around cutting consumption to record lows.
Residents responded magnificently, rolled up their sleeves, and got stuck in. Individuals, families, communities, businesses, private dam owners and many others. Everyone played their part in this city-wide collective effort to keep the taps open.
Each week, the water consumption steadily dropped, and we were able to push back Day Zero by days, and then weeks, and then months.
I am therefore happy to announce today that provided we continue consuming water at current levels, and we receive decent winter rainfall this year, Day Zero will not occur in 2018. This means the taps will stay open in 2018!
Consumption now sits at between 510 and 520 million litres per day – down from almost 1.2 billion litres in February 2015. This 60% reduction in consumption is an incredible achievement, and outperforms many other cities across the world which faced severe droughts – including Sao Paulo, Melbourne, and the State of California.
The significance of this effort cannot be overstated. The sustained dedication and fortitude of all residents is the primary reason for this. You are all Day Zero heroes.
My deepest thanks also goes out to the private water transfer providers whose transfer of water has hugely helped us all to defeat Day Zero in 2018. I am similarly grateful to the agricultural sector and businesses who have played a massive part in defeating Day Zero for the year.
However, while we must celebrate our collective achievement, this is not the time for complacency. While it is now unlikely to occur in 2018, Day Zero is still a very real possibility during the 2019 summer months if we do not have significant rainfall this winter. I want to reiterate, and cannot stress enough, that we need to keep at current consumptions levels until at least after the winter rainfall. We can and we must continue to use less than 50 litres of water per day so that Day Zero can be defeated in its entirety.
I am confident that residents will not return to previous wasteful water practices. We have all had our habits and routines changed for the better by this drought, and we must not revert to old bad habits. There is a ‘new normal’ in the Western Cape around water use. We must continue in this current spirit of utmost respect for this precious natural resource, and never waste it. I must also be made clear that this hinges on the national Department of Water and Sanitation honouring its agreement as to the amount of bulk water that will be supplied to the city and the province over the year.
The City of Cape Town will continue to play its part – under the guidance of Deputy Mayor Ian Neilson and MMC Xanthea Limberg – in building a long-term water resilient city. As the climate and rainfall patterns are changing, so too is our approach to water security in the city.
Through augmentation projects, we will be adding an additional 190 ML per day to the supply system by the end of this year; growing to 220 ML in 2019; and plan to ramp it up to 300 ML in 2020.
So too will the Provincial Government continue to provide disaster management planning and response, as well as ensuring that the many other towns and cities throughout the province – all of which have suffered through this drought – emerge more resilient and water secure. Premier Zille, Minister Bredell, and their colleagues, have done exceptional work in readying the province for all possible eventualities, and this work can and must continue until such time as water supply is normalised and Day Zero is completely defeated.
Depending on the extent of consumption – and the amount of rain we receive over the winter months – the city may be in a position to scale back the current restrictions from Level 6B to Level 5 in the near future. They will communicate on this in good time.
I am satisfied with the good work done by Deputy Mayor Neilson, MMC Limberg, Premier Zille and Minister Bredell, and want to thank them and their departments in both local and provincial government for the crucial role played in tackling this crisis. I have full faith in their ability to see us through this water crisis.
In the context of climate change, South Africans ought to accept and appreciate that we have a new relationship with water. The DA will begin the process of tasking our governments to build water resilient cities and towns across the country, as we tackle this “new normal.”
My focus in terms of water will now shift to the national sphere, where I will be in Parliament fighting for the many millions of South Africans who do not have a safe and secure water supply. There are too many towns across South Africa who are in a worse position than Cape Town, and they need our help.
Let’s keep our consumption levels as low so that together we can defeat Day Zero for good.

Cut the fat, don’t tax the poor

The following remarks were delivered by the Leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), Mmusi Maimane, during a march to National Treasury in Tshwane today. Attached please find the Memorandum that was handed over by the Leader to Treasury on behalf of the DA. 
Fellow South Africans
We have come here today to say: we reject the increase in VAT to 15%. We reject it outright.
We reject this government’s plans to make up for their waste and their greed by taxing the poor even more.
We reject the argument that the only way to dig us out of our financial hole is by making poor South Africans pay through a higher VAT rate and higher fuel taxes.
We reject any solution that says “make the people who already can’t afford the basics, pay even more so that we can keep on looking after loyal cadres”.
Because that’s exactly what this VAT increase, along with the 52 cents per litre hike in the fuel levy, will do. It will target the people who spend by far the biggest part of their income on food and transport.
It will target the poor while the real reasons for the R50bn hole in our budget – the wasteful spending, the populist policies and our massively bloated government – remain off-limits to the Finance Minister.
And remember, that R50bn hole is projected to become a R70bn hole next year, and a R90bn hole the year after that.
So what are we going to do? Are we going to push up VAT every time we can’t balance the books?
To those who say a VAT increase was the only way to make up the shortfall, I say: Rubbish! You haven’t even tried to look for ways to save enough.
I know this, because we have looked and we have found a way to save the money and prevent the VAT increase, without hurting the poor and without putting our country deeper into debt. It absolutely can be done.
But it can only be done if you are prepared to make decisions that put the interests of poor South Africans above the interests of those who earn a living off one of the world’s most bloated governments.
The answer lies in trimming the fat – in cutting spending where we can afford it and, very importantly, where it won’t hurt service delivery.
The bitter irony of the ANC government’s budget is that the only significant cuts in spending were all made in areas that directly affect poor communities.
By slashing the funding to provinces and municipalities for school infrastructure projects and human settlements programmes, and by cutting 2000 personnel from the police service, it is only the poorest communities who will pay.
So if not through a VAT hike and cuts in pro-poor spending, where should the former Finance Minister have found the missing money?
Well, we gave him the answer to this question. We told him before his Budget Speech, and again in the wake of his disastrous budget, where he could find R112bn that would not punish poor South Africans.
We have one of the largest cabinets in the world, and we have just about the most foreign missions in the world. Why? Because that’s how the ANC rewards cadres. Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Ambassadors and all the other positions created by this enormous government – these are all part of an elaborate loyalty reward scheme.
The fact is, we don’t need half of them. We can start by firing the leftover Gupta Ministers that the President failed to fire, like Malusi Gigaba and Bathabile Dlamini. We can trim our cabinet down to 15 ministries and we can cut our foreign missions by 69. That alone will save us close on R18bn.
Then we need to have a serious look at our public sector wage bill. By implementing a one-year wage freeze for public service office bearers, including local and general government employees, and by forgoing performance bonuses in government, we can save over R60bn.
We can save a further R17bn over the medium term by withdrawing from the New Development Bank.
And finally, we need to take stock of our SOEs and the parcels of government land that aren’t suitable for housing development. Whatever is not strategic and whatever we don’t need, we must sell off or lease out.
There is R112bn to be saved in our budget, but it requires a shift in thinking. It requires taking on the patronage system on which the ANC was built.
Fellow South Africans, we have been hearing a lot recently about a new dawn. We have a new President who has made all sorts of promises about doing things differently. That’s good. But the time for promises has come and gone.
I hope President Ramaphosa enjoyed his honeymoon, because it is over. He is back at work now and he needs to start acting on all his promises.
But he’s not the only new member of this government. We also have a new Finance Minister, who brings with him high expectations. I am sure he’s glad to have this opportunity to prove himself.
Minister Nene, you’ll never have a better chance to make an impression than with your first big decision in cabinet. You know the facts around this budget and the VAT hike, and you know what you can do to fix it.
I call on you, on behalf of millions of poor South Africans, to reverse this VAT increase, and to find the necessary money in the budget items we have outlined for you.
The question is not whether it can be done. We have shown that the money is there. The question is whether you and President Ramaphosa and your colleagues in this “New Dawn” government have the courage and the will to do the right thing.
The ball is now in your court.
Thank you.

We will fight the anti-poor tax increases on all fronts

The following remarks were made today by DA Leader, Mmusi Maimane, at a rally in Soshanguve, Tshwane. Maimane was joined by DA Gauteng Leader, John Moodey, and Tshwane Mayor, Solly Msimanga. The national petition launched today can be accessed here.
Fellow Democrats
The National Budget, tabled in Parliament this past Wednesday by Finance Minister, Malusi Gigaba, was the first actual, tangible action taken by this government since the election of a new President last week. It was the first opportunity to see this governments plans in action, and access its priorities. Sadly, it represents no real change from the ANC in government. It is undoubtedly one of the most anti-poor budgets we have ever seen – and it amounts to an assault on the poor and the jobless.
Instead of cutting the fat and waste in government – unnecessary expenditure and bloated departments – and focusing on growth, the ANC chose to cut spending on services to poor people, including funding for housing, education, policing, and local and provincial government.
The raising of VAT by 1 percentage point in effect means that we will all be paying 7.14% more tax on every day goods and services. This, combined with a significant fuel levy increases, will make food and transport more expensive. It will now be more expensive to be unemployed in South Africa. Life will get harder for the most vulnerable in society over the coming months.
As I have said, I will offer President Ramaphosa my support when he takes action that will benefit the country. However, raising VAT and transport levies will not benefit the country, it will do the very opposite – and it will hit the poor and the jobless the hardest.
This is because poor households spend a much greater portion of their income on food and transport. According to StatisticsSA, poor households spend most of their income – 30% – on food, compared to non-poor households which only spend 10.5%. A VAT increase only exacerbates this inequality between the “haves” and the “have not’s”.
Moreover, two thirds of the country’s lowest income earners use more than 20 percent of their income on transport costs. This means the 52c per litre increase in fuel levies means the cost for people to travel long distances to work, or to look for work, will increase.
Over half of our nation lives in poverty, and almost 10 million South Africans are without a job. Those South Africans should have benefitted from the budget, not been bruised and battered by it.
The ANC cannot steal public money and then expect us, the people, to pay for it.
South Africans are law abiding. We pay our taxes faithfully, and we deserve better than this.   We will not take this lying down.
Therefore we are here today to call on all South Africans to join the fight against increased taxes for the poor and working class. The DA will oppose and fight the VAT increase and the transport levy increases on all fronts. We will not support a regressive and anti-poor policy by the ANC, and will today be launching a national petition to say ‘no’ to VAT and transport levies. The petition can be accessed here.
I call on all South Africans to join this fight, and to add their voice in saying we will not accept things as is any longer.
The ANC government had a choice – and they still have a choice. Raising VAT and other taxes was not a necessity.  Instead of raising VAT, they could have rather cut the fat in government.
In fact, we even did the work for the ANC government. Our plan spelt out the options for expenditure cuts and selling off certain entities that would free up R112 billion. That meant tax increases were not necessary. But the ANC chose otherwise.
Instead of reducing the number of foreign missions, which could save an estimated R3.9 billion – the ANC decided to raise VAT by 1%.
Instead of withdrawing from the New Development Bank, which would save an estimated R17.2 billion – the ANC decided to increase transport levies by 52c per litre.
Instead of reducing the size of the executive, to 15 ministries, which could save R13.8 billion over the medium term – the ANC chose to cut police services by over 2000 personnel.
Instead of selling government’s remaining shares in Telkom, which would raise an estimated R7 billion – the ANC chose to cut funding for building houses by R7.2 billion.
Instead of implementing salary freezes for all highly paid fatcat head office staff, which would raise an estimated R7.5 billion – the ANC chose to cut funding for education by R3.6 billion.
The first national budget of the Ramaphosa administration is an assault against the poor and unemployed in our country. This is not the change we wanted to see – it is more of the same from the ANC.
Our fight will always be for the poor, the unemployed, the excluded, and the vulnerable in society. We will always oppose actions which bully the little guy, the ordinary South African who is just trying to get by. We will always stand up to the interests of a few, for the benefit of the many – whether it be big government, big business, or big labour.
And this budget is precisely that. It is big government bullying ordinary South Africans into paying for its misdeeds. The ANC cannot make the poor pay for their looting of public money.
In the lead up to the budget process in Parliament, we will be in communities across the nation, in shopping centres, in places of activity, and knocking on doors in our effort to mobilise South Africans against the uncaring and unnecessary increase of VAT and other regressive anti-poor taxes.
We will table this petition in Parliament, and bring the voice of the people to the ears of the out of touch, self-serving ANC. We will also unequivocally oppose the passing of the Bill which will give effect to the VAT increase from 1 April 2018.
We call on all MPs to vote against the laws that will give effect to these taxes, which will come before Parliament in the coming weeks. This includes the ANC’s alliance partners in Parliamment. They cannot say they are against VAT increases in the media, but vote to support VAT increases in Parliament.
The President has options. The ball in now in his court. If he chooses to stick by this anti-poor, anti-development budget, then his words of change and renewal will be nothing more that empty words, and more of the same from the ANC.
Today, we begin our fight to put the power back in the hands of the people, not rich politicians who don’t care about the plight of the poor and the jobless.
 
 
 

Your job is to build a Botswana worth handing to your children

The following remarks were delivered by DA Leader, Mmusi Maimane, at the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) Conference in Gaborone, Botswana, today. 
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for the opportunity to address you today. It is an honour and a pleasure for me to speak at a forum such as this, where democracy is strengthened through the collaborative efforts of opposition parties.
This is an important conversation throughout our continent right now. Many African nations are entering a period that one might describe as a second liberation. With many of these states now celebrating 40 or 50 years of independence from colonial rule, their democracies are maturing. This means their people are experiencing an awakening of sorts when it comes to their expectation of their government.
The liberation movements that spearheaded the various struggles for independence across the continent are discovering that they can no longer extract loyalty through their old stories alone. Their people have learnt that struggle stories don’t build schools, houses and roads. Struggle stories don’t look after public money. Struggle stories don’t grow the economy and create jobs.
Virtually without exception, liberation movements in Africa have failed to translate into capable and honest governments. In most cases these liberation movements have become the very thing they fought to overthrow – a small elite that will do anything to protect its access to the spoils of power.
This is playing out in states all around Botswana right now, most notably to your east in Zimbabwe, where ZANU-PF has been clinging to its throne for almost four decades. Its latest move to secure control – in which Robert Mugabe was evicted and Emmerson Mnangagwa installed in his place – was no revolution.
Yes, we celebrated the end of the Mugabe dynasty. But this was little more than a palace coup, in which a new leader could absolve his party from the sins of the past, and they could all continue to sit at the table, feasting on the spoils.
My own country has just completed its very own palace coup. Everyone knows that the ANC has failed the people of South Africa in every single way – from failed education to a failed economy to a failure to keep people safe.  But the ANC also knew that much of this failure could be attached to our corrupt former President, Jacob Zuma, and then jettisoned along with him.
By replacing Zuma with someone who is evidently less compromised, they get to banish their entire legacy of failures to the scrapheap of history along with their failed leader. The party is forgiven – its sins washed clean – and its members are given a clean slate and a fresh start.
This is why we cannot speak of transformation or renewal until we have seen power peacefully transferred to another party. Only when a nation’s democracy has been successfully tested at the ballot box – when we have been liberated from our liberators – can we call it a transformation. Everything else is merely a swapping of factions.
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is the job of all of us in this room to fight for this democratic change. And when I say fight, I mean using every single democratic avenue available to us. We are the custodians of our nations’ democracies – our success in ushering in post-liberation eras for our respective countries will determine the kind of societies we leave behind for our children.
So it is crucial that we fight the good fight. Yes, I know it is easier to be a populist. It is easier to sow discord – to divide and conquer. It is easier to mobilise people around things like ethnicity, race and language. It is easier to make wild, unachievable promises that you have no intention or ability to deliver on. If you’re only after quick solutions for easy votes, then this is what you do.
But if your task is to build a prosperous, sustainable Botswana, a Botswana with opportunities for all, a Botswana that respects the rule of law and where the same rules count for all, then you have to do it the hard way. You have to build it on values that will stand your country in good stead for decades to come.
You will also have to build your Botswana on a foundation of strong institutions of democracy. Back home in South Africa, we are learning hard lessons about what happens to a democracy when these institutions are undermined or manipulated to suit the agenda of a ruling faction.
Our investigative and prosecutorial bodies were hollowed out by the Zuma government. Through their official policy of cadre deployment, they loaded the leadership of these institutions with pliable cadres who would look the other way while state resources were being plundered.
Similarly our tax collection agency was severely compromised by the installation of a Zuma yes-man at its head. Not only does this allow for theft and corruption to go unchecked, it also means the tax collector cannot fulfil its crucial role of funding the state’s efforts to improve the lives of its people.
These institutions, along with your parliament, your electoral commission, your judiciary and your independent media, are absolutely vital to the functioning of a healthy democracy. It is worth every drop of your blood, sweat and tears to keep them strong, independent and uncaptured.
It is also your job to prevent the slide towards a corrupt and criminal state. For many leaders, the temptation of public office is simply too much. Whether it is people who have spent too long in office and have become corrupted over time, or whether it is people who spotted this easy money and quickly jumped on board, governments attract opportunists and parasites.
While you’re in opposition, it is your duty to be vigilant. You need to safeguard the people’s resources from the greedy and the selfish. You need to champion the rights of ordinary citizens. And when you one day transition from opposition to government, it is your duty to never forget this respect for public money.
Corruption is not, as some back in my country would have you believe, a victimless crime. On the contrary, corruption has millions of victims, and those who are hit the hardest are always the poor. Corruption takes money directly from the projects meant to benefit the poor and places it in the pockets of a small elite.
We’ve just heard our Budget Speech for 2018, and it is a harsh budget indeed. Bad news for everyone in terms of tax increases and spending cuts, but most of all bad news for our poor people. Because an increase in Value Added Tax along with cuts to the budgets to build schools, transport and housing projects will make their everyday lives so much harder.
The reason we have to face this tough budget is because corruption has cost us billions and billions over the past decade. And the reason this has been allowed to happen is because our institutions of democracy were deliberately paralysed.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Both Botswana and South Africa face the prospect of change. Both our countries go to the polls next year to give our people the opportunity to choose a new beginning.
In both our countries, the long-dominant ruling party has weakened to the point where it risks losing power nationally. And in both our countries, a vibrant new cooperation between opposition parties has given the people hope for a fresh start.
This is, for the foreseeable future, where our hope lies – in coalitions and alliances formed around collective values. Yes, we may have our differences. I am sure that many of you in this room do not agree on everything. But that’s not important. What is important is that you can agree on the things that matter most: uplifting your people, fighting poverty, creating jobs, growing the economy and safeguarding the people’s money.
It is also important that you agree on values such as Constitutionalism, a respect for the rule of law, equality before the law and a society free from racism and prejudice. If you have this in common, everything else is just detail that can be easily navigated.
My party has, since the end of 2016, been heading up coalition governments in three Metro municipalities. Our coalition partners come from a very wide background, and differ from us on many ideological issues. But we all recognise the bigger picture here, and that is saving the people of these cities from another five years of ANC rule. Giving them an honest, credible government that really acts in their best interest.
I won’t lie to you – it has not always been easy. We’ve clashed heads with our coalition partners on many issues, but we’ve always managed to find a way through, because we are driven by a goal that is bigger than any one of us.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am excited at the prospect of a thriving opposition alliance in Botswana. The Umbrella for Democratic Change is incredibly hopeful, particularly because we, the opposition parties in South Africa, have just been through a similar process ourselves and it is working.
Perhaps when we meet again like this, it will be as two alliance governments speaking about our vision for our countries and our region. About the possibilities of trade across our borders. About our shared interest in a thriving tourism sector. About our common goals in diversifying and modernising our economies – to move further away from our heavy dependence on minerals and enter an era equally reliant on manufacturing, technology and service industries.
I also hope this common vision of our region includes a firm commitment to Human Rights on our continent. I hope we can all agree to strengthen measures to ensure that leaders like Omar al-Bashir are brought to book. This means bolstering the mandate of the SADC tribunal and remaining committed to the International Criminal Court.
This vision of an open and collaborative Southern Africa is something I have dreamed about for a long time. I want to see the potential of our region unlocked in my lifetime, but this will require partners throughout the region who share this vision.
My hope is that some of these partners are here in this room today.
I thank you.

DA congratulates Cyril Ramaphosa on his election as President of the Republic

The following speech was delivered today by DA Leader, Mmusi Maimane, in Parliament, Cape Town.
On behalf of the Democratic Alliance I would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to the new President of the Republic of South Africa, Honourable Cyril Ramaphosa.
While the circumstances of his election were far from ideal for our country, Honourable Ramaphosa now has an opportunity to close the Zuma chapter and begin charting a new course.
We wish him well in his new job. And I would like to assure him that he can count on our support and cooperation as long as he acts in the best interest of the people of South Africa.
I have heard many people say, with much relief, that we can now finally shift our focus from the ANC’s problems to the country’s problems.
And I agree, we cannot waste any time in attending to the massive challenges faced by our people every day.
But this statement misses one crucial fact, and that is that the ANC is our country’s biggest problem.
All along, we didn’t have a Zuma problem. We didn’t even have a Gupta problem.
Our problem is that the ANC put Zuma in power and the ANC kept Zuma in power, knowing full well what was going on.
And our problem is that same ANC is still here in this House today.
I see all the Members in the ANC benches are celebrating today, as if they had nothing to do with Jacob Zuma.
The biggest Jacob Zuma supporters have changed their tune overnight.
Honourable Ramaphosa,
Right now South Africa is riding a wave of relief. Our country is celebrating the end of the worst era in our democracy. And many people have pinned their hope on you.
Many people think you have a simple task.
You just throw out the corrupt ones and replace them with good ones, and the rest will take care of itself.
I know this is not the case. I only have to look around you to know what you’re up against.
The corrupt system that allowed Jacob Zuma to survive motion after motion in this House while selling off our country has gone nowhere.
It’s still here, in these benches.
He may be known for his lies and deceit over the years, but Jacob Zuma told one uncomfortable truth in his rambling TV interview yesterday.
He said that no one in the ANC could tell him what he did wrong.
Why is that? Everyone knows what he did wrong. Why could no one from the ANC come out and say this?
I can think of only two reasons:
Either the ANC genuinely believes Jacob Zuma did nothing wrong, and that it’s simply now someone else’s turn to eat.
Or, the ANC can’t admit what Jacob Zuma did wrong, because doing so would implicate the party and all of you.
Honourable Ramaphosa,
This is the ANC you have inherited. This is the ANC you have been part of for years. And this is our country’s biggest problem.
That is why we have moved a motion in terms of Section 50 of the Constitution, to dissolve parliament and call an early election.
South Africa’s Jacob Zuma problem is gone, but its ANC problem is still very much here. That is why we need a new election as soon as possible.
Voters must have the chance to punish the ANC for what it has done for the last 10 years.
In that election, Mr President, and in all of those to follow, let us have a proper debate about ideas for a better future of our country, and how to get us there.
In that contest of ideas about the future, we look forward to taking you on toe to toe in this House.