The ANC government is failing our children, is failing us

The following remarks were delivered by DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Police, Dianne Kohler Barnard MP, during the debate on murder in the National Assembly today.
Why are we as a nation no longer outraged by murder?
At the very moment South Africans were protesting yesterday, two farmers were murdered. One in Deneysville, brutally beaten and then shot nine times. His 12 year old son, also terribly beaten, has survived. And yet another farmer was murdered on a farm in Vryheid. Statistics show us that these are likely to be only the tip of the iceberg – 50 more people from our townships to our suburbs, from our farms to our cities, throughout our country, might have met their end in a gruesome murder yesterday, and 52 more will lose their lives today.
Yet the deaths of these 52 South Africans will remain virtually unremarked. Such as, for example, Andrew and Loryn Monakane. The Monakane’s were brutally murdered on their farm Graigmont, near Dewetsdorp in the Free State. He was shot dead, probably not before she was gang raped, but certainly before she was shot in the face. She died the next day.
This attack on two upcoming black farmers slipped by barely making a blip on the radar and from the media’s side there seemed to be little interest. Shortly before their murder another black farmer from the Eastern Cape and his housekeeper were also murdered. No one here knows about it.
Rural areas today are beyond unsafe and the refusal or inability of the police to institute proper rural security measures not only aggravates the situation but has led to the extraordinary pressure-cooker gatherings around the country yesterday during the Black Monday protests.
But of course farmers are by no means the only victims of this terrible violent scourge.
So: 52 murders a day – our babies, our children, our teenagers, our husbands, our wives, our mothers, our fathers.
109 of them are raped each and every day, often before being murdered. 46 of them are hijacked each day, often before being raped and then murdered.
Our police are not even close to getting a grip on violent crime, despite a budget that has been increased by almost 50% since 2011/12 to R87 billion.
How did we become a nation where, the Minister tells me, child murders in South Africa increased 14.5%, totalling a truly appalling 969 cases in a single year? Three children murdered daily. What is worse is that this was a question put to various former Ministers of Police from 2014, and it wasn’t deemed important enough to answer until three years later.
How is it possible that there is such a damning lack of urgency shown by the government in tackling the scourge of child murders? The DA has been trying to pin down statistics for child homicide rates in South Africa for the past ten years, but have been frustrated by a government that is either unwilling to address the crisis, embarrassed by it or indifferent to it.
And how are our children dying? Mainly they are stabbed to death. Alternatively they are shot, cut, beaten to death by bare hands, by sticks, by stones and bricks, strangled with string or wire, poisoned, or kicked to death. You get the idea.
This is the reality our South African babies face from the moment they are born and this is the news every Mother dreads hearing. That this is what has happened to their baby. Inconceivable but it happens.
These gruesome statistics serve as clear evidence that this government is failing our children, is failing us.
It is a societal problem. Parents are perhaps only too keen to be hands-off, to leave even the most basic training to the schools where our children are increasingly at risk as teachers could hold one of our daughters down and gang rape her. Inconceivable but it happens.
The problem is, such is the fear and sometimes even loathing of our SAPS, that people run from them when they should run to them. Sadly, when they do run to them, they have no vehicles, or no drivers’ licences, or no staff. Or they demand money.
So fewer and fewer South Africans bother to report crimes to the SAPS. This makes the annual crime statistics look good if nothing else. If they are able to afford it, citizens pay for Private Security, and endless beams and alarms and bulletproof doors. If they can’t, they don’t sleep at night but lie awake terrified as shots ring out in the streets.
The damage done by Jacki Selebi, who shut down all specialised units, saw all experts in child-related crimes dumped from the FCS units, to areas where their expertise wasn’t wanted or needed.
Finally, in the face of plummeting conviction rates, some Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Units were reopened but remain ‘Cinderella Units’, under-staffed and under-resourced, and there simply are not enough of them.
And of course, effective policing cannot be realised while many stations still do not have victim-friendly rooms and rape test kits.
Because of the disaster that is the SAPS Crime Intelligence, sex trafficking syndicates and the stealing of our young girls will not be stopped and drug Lords remain free to lead our children into their dark and terrible lives.
Because of the disaster that is the SAPS laboratory based in bits and pieces of Amanzimtoti, with 456 drug-related samples swept out to sea in a flood, criminals are laughing all the way home. This laboratory is, or was, housed by Public Works in what is today a slum building that has been flooded four times.
Thousands of samples must now be shifted along with 120 staff to the other three national labs, at massive expense.
And the SAPS wonder why the citizens of South Africa don’t put them on the sort of pedestal they stand on in countries like Germany or France.
We have had three failed NPCs, one acting NPC, suspended, and a second on the way out, I gather. Are we to wait until the ANC congress before another political appointment is made or will we finally see someone brought in who won’t steal, spend money like water, oversee another Marikana, or involve his or herself in internal politics?
We need the highest possible qualifications wrapped around a spine of steel. If we’re given another unqualified, unsuitable Commissioner, we may yet see our daily murder rate reach 60 a day.

DA urges MPs to support motion for early election

The DA calls on all Members of Parliament to support our motion calling for early elections as per Section 50(1) of the Constitution, which will be debated in the National Assembly today, 5 September.
This is an opportunity for MPs to do the right thing and put the people of South Africa first.
On 8 August, 177 MPs, including dozens from the ANC, sent out a powerful message by voting in favour of the Motion of No Confidence in President Jacob Zuma. We call on these brave individuals and those who have not yet spoken out to put an end to the ruinous Zuma presidency.
South Africa cannot afford another two years of ANC governance. We cannot tolerate another two years of the Gupta family’s toxic influence over President Zuma and the ANC government. We cannot endure another two years of unchecked looting and plundering of our state-owned entities.
South Africa deserves a fresh start and the Constitution makes provision for early elections in instances, such as these, where there is a legitimacy crisis. Public representatives are elected to represent the hopes and aspirations of ordinary South Africans who, through their votes, chose them to serve. When they no longer serve those who elected them, but instead serve the interests of the political elite and their criminal associates, they must be removed.
Opposition parties also carry the hopes of the millions of South Africans who are unemployed and poor. They too should not disappoint the disaffected the way the ANC has.
The ANC can no longer be trusted to govern. South Africans have had enough. This is why the motion to usher in new elections must be supported.

Public Protector gives David Mahlobo a pass for lying to Parliament

The DA is deeply disappointed that the Public Protector, Adv. Busisiwe Mkhwebane, has chosen to absolve the Minister of State Security, David Mahlobo, despite unequivocal evidence that he lied to Parliament.
We do not accept this attempt to explain away Mahlobo’s blatant lies and his deliberate attempt to mislead the Legislature. We look forward to pursuing this matter further in the Powers and Privileges Committee to which this matter has also been referred.
I had reported Mahlobo to the Public Protector on 18 November 2016 for violating the Executive Members Ethics Act by deliberately misleading Parliament about his relationship with #feesmustfall student leader, Mcebo Dlamini. It has taken a staggering nine and a half months for the Public Protector’s Office to complete its report, despite the Executive Members Ethics Act stating it must do so “within 30 days of receipt of the complaint”.
On 16 November 2016, Mahlobo told a bald-faced lie in the National Assembly when, responding to an oral question from DA MP, Prof Belinda Bozzoli, he stated that “Mcebo Dlamini has not been to my house”. Yet only two days prior he himself revealed his relationship with Dlamini when, participating in a panel discussion hosted by the Institute for Security Studies, he declared: “[A]nd I happen to know Mcebo [Dlamini]. He has been to my house several times.”
The Public Protector has unthinkingly accepted Mahlobo’s excuse that the “context” and the “gist” of Prof Bozzoli’s question “sought to suggest that Mr Mcebo Dlamini met with him at his residence to discuss the student protests”. The question was clear. The lie was clear. The intention to mislead Parliament was clear.
It is disturbing how disposed the Public Protector is to accepting Mahlobo’s vapid explanation. We can only hope that this is not a portent of things to come.
Mkhwebane’s predecessor, Thuli Madonsela, was instrumental in holding the Executive to account and would not have accepted Mahlobo’s nonsense defence. Sadly, it seems the incumbent Public Protector does not have the same appetite for holding errand ministers accountable and is all too willing to let liars off the hook.
The DA will not allow Mahlobo or any other minister to escape censure for misleading the legislature.

If the ANC won’t remove Zuma, let the people do it

The following speech was made today by the DA Leader, Mmusi Maimane, at the Cape Town Press Club. 
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Honoured guests,
Members of the Press,
Whenever we have a conversation about where we stand as a country and what lies ahead, the temptation is to delve into what brought us here. And as you know, that can prove to be the deepest of rabbit holes.
I am not going to unpack the breadth and depth of our state capture saga here today, because many of you are already doing a fine job.
I would like to use this opportunity to thank each and every member of our vibrant and independent media for the way in which this huge story around the Gupta emails has been handled.
When things look bleak, people need heroes to turn to. And over the course of the last few months our heroes have been the journalists and editors who have done the back-breaking work of sifting through hundreds of thousands of mails, linking the characters, joining the dots and building the puzzle of this attack on our state and its resources.
In the face of brazen threats, counter-propaganda, cruel slander campaigns and a nation’s increasing scandal fatigue, you have not wavered.
You only need to look at countries facing their own struggles, but without the benefit of a free, unencumbered press – countries such as Russia and Turkey – to realise just what your contribution has been to safeguarding our democracy and standing up for the people of South Africa.
I assure you, your efforts are deeply appreciated by all.
So I will not repeat all the details today of what we now accept as the truth around state capture. We all know the destruction and looting that has taken place at the hands of the ANC and their Gupta handlers across our state-owned enterprises.
These are facts, confirmed in hard evidence and uncontested by all except the Gupta brothers and a handful of their syndicate members. You know it, I know it and the South African public knows it.
But perhaps even more importantly, ANC members themselves know it. Some have spoken out in the media, using clear, unambiguous language. Many have chosen their words more carefully, fearing the inevitable witch-hunt.
And last Tuesday, somewhere between 30 and 40 of them voted to oust Jacob Zuma. Another nine abstained from voting either against their party or in favour of their President.
This is unprecedented in our democracy. It has never happened before, and it signals the scale of the disunity in the ANC – something that even 198 “no” votes cannot begin to mask. It is an organisation truly at war with itself.
But far from causing introspection or moderation, this split in the ranks has emboldened the Zuma supporters to dig in their heels and refuse to acknowledge their moral bankruptcy.
In fact, they have now expressed their intention to hunt down the 40 rebels and drive them from the party.
We’ve heard people like Gwede Mantashe, Bathabile Dlamini and even Zuma himself ridicule the notion of a conscience within the ANC in the wake of the vote.
They have given up pretending they serve the people. They’re no longer afraid or ashamed to admit that they care more for their own profitable careers than for the welfare of the people who elected them.
They have proven, over and over again, that they will rally around Jacob Zuma and the kind of ANC he represents. They have betrayed millions of South Africans – not only those who voted for the ANC, but every single citizen of this country whom they swore to serve.
These people have cost the ANC its mandate to govern.
Time and time again we were told of the good people within the ANC who would step in and save the party and, by extension, our country. We were told to give them the space to self-correct.
But with all the space in the world, even with the unprecedented protection of a secret ballot, they simply could not muster just 51 votes required to cut loose the man who has brought so much misery and despair to South Africans.
They had many opportunities internally too, the most recent of which came at their NEC meeting in May. But instead of standing up to Zuma, it was Zuma who tore into them, threatening those who publicly criticise him with his wrath.
It was the second failure in six months by the ANC NEC to remove him. Instead, the handful of dissenters left with their tails between their legs.
Clearly the so-called good people in the ANC are vastly outnumbered by those who see state power as simply a means to the larger end of massive theft and corruption.
I have a message for those who say the ANC can self-correct before December, at December, or after December. And that message is: It is time to get real. The evidence is clear that the ANC is beyond redemption. Its decline and decay is irreversible.
That a considerable block of ANC MPs chose to cast their vote against Zuma under the cover of a secret ballot was encouraging.
We have said often, and still say, that the future of South African politics is in a fundamental realignment of people in defence of the Constitution and its values.
We know that in one form or another we will one day share the government benches with those 40 brave rebels who voted with us last week.
But the numbers in last Tuesday’s vote don’t lie: Almost 80% of the ANC caucus chose to shield Zuma and, by extension, the Guptas. The Kleptocrats and the “Capturists” out-numbered the Constitutionalists 5 to 1.
If the National Assembly cannot perform its job of holding the Executive and the President to account, and if the ANC cannot correct itself internally, the logical next step is to hand this decision over to the people of South Africa.
This is why, following the failed No-Confidence vote, we submitted a motion calling for early elections.
Our Constitution allows for the country to make a fresh start before the end of a five-year term of office. Section 50 states that a majority in Parliament can call for an early election, if at least three years have passed since the last election.
This section of the Constitution was written precisely for the situation we now find ourselves in: If a president or government no longer represents the will of the people – if it is failing to carry out their mandate – then the people must be given a chance to choose a new government.
Outwardly, the ANC claims to be confident that they still enjoy the support of the majority of South Africans. But we’re saying to them: Put this to the test. Support our call for early elections and let the people of South Africa decide whether you still have a mandate to govern.
There has been a bit of background noise since we announced our intention to table a motion for a fresh election. Some analysts claim that we are uniting the ANC at a time when they are most divided.
Others say that we have the timing wrong, that we should rather wait until after the ANC’s elective conference in December. And then there are those who say that our motion has no chance of succeeding, so why even bother?
So let me address these points head-on today.
First of all, the DA cannot either unite or divide the ANC. Only the ANC can do that. There is nothing that we can say or do that will unite the ANC. The party is at war with itself and whatever we say or do will not change that.
Besides anything else, it is not our job to worry about divisions in other parties. We can only do what is right for the future of the country. And we believe that the time has come to give the people of South Africa a say in which party governs them.
Then, secondly, there is the notion that we must wait until December. This doesn’t make sense for a number of reasons. For one thing, we are running out of time to save South Africa. There is not a moment to waste.
And for another thing, we have seen that the ANC is incapable of self-correcting. Why should we imagine that December will prove otherwise – regardless of who is elected to lead the ANC?
Finally, there is the argument that our motion will not succeed. It is worth reminding people that our motions very rarely succeed because we do not have a majority in Parliament. But this doesn’t mean that we should not table them.
Our job is to do what is right, to use the constitutional mechanisms at our disposal and to win the argument – even if we don’t always win the vote.
The DA is not alone in its belief that we should have fresh elections. The SA Council of Churches made the call as recently as June this year.
The UDM made the same call back in April last year during the impeachment debate, with its leader Bantu Holomisa calling for an immediate dissolution of Parliament and early elections. “Let the voice of the people be heard,” he said.
COPE said during the State of the Nation Address in February that we need to dissolve Parliament and hold a new election. “It is in contempt of the Constitutional Court order. It must be dissolved forthwith and fresh elections called to save our democracy,” they said.
And in March last year, in the wake of the Constitutional Court ruling that President Zuma and the National Assembly had violated the constitution, the EFF had this to say: “That parliament was supposed to be dissolved now. It has permanently violated the Constitution. We must call for an election.”
The only problem with all of these calls was that they were premature. Firstly, and most obviously, they were made at a time when three years had not yet elapsed since the last election.
Section 50 of our Constitution is quite clear in this regard. It states: “The President must dissolve the National Assembly if the Assembly has adopted a resolution to dissolve with a supporting vote of a majority of its members; and three years have passed since the Assembly was elected.”
Secondly, we had not yet debated our Motion of No Confidence in Parliament. It was important to us that the ANC be given a final chance to remove President Zuma.
Now that the ANC has failed that test, we are left to take the next logical constitutional step – and that is the call for a fresh election now.
By now we are quite used to being told what we should and should not do.
If we were to listen to these critics and base our actions on the consensus of analysts and opinion writers, we would never have embarked on any of our most successful campaigns.
They said that we were wrong to run a “Stop Zuma” campaign back in 2009. Now everyone wants to stop Zuma.
They said that we shouldn’t have marched to Nkandla back in 2012. They said it was culturally insensitive and would lose us votes. Today, Nkandla has come to symbolise the corruption of the ANC under Zuma and was no doubt a factor in its election losses in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay.
They said that we shouldn’t table Motions of No Confidence in Jacob Zuma, that it would unite the ANC. Yet last week he came very close to being ousted by his own party members in a No Confidence vote. More importantly, the people of South Africa got to see, once and for all, that the ANC is incapable of ‘self-correction’ when it matters most.
They said that we shouldn’t oppose the appointment of Busisiwe Mkhwebane as Public Protector, that we just being difficult. Today you will struggle to find anyone who approves of her appointment. This was highlighted when the North Gauteng High Court slammed her this week for overreaching her Constitutional powers in the Reserve Bank case.
I am proud to lead a party that helps set the national agenda, even if our critics don’t always agree with us. We need to challenge government and to use every lever at our disposal to do what is right for South Africa.
If we are to lead a national government in the near future, our ideas and actions must be bold, not safe.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Our country needs a new beginning. And this goes beyond removing Jacob Zuma and the Guptas.
We need a fresh start – a fundamental change – because millions of our people are suffering, and life isn’t getting any easier for them.
But we cannot make this fresh start when we’re stuck in a recession. We cannot fire up our economy while we carry the tag of junk status around our necks. Ratings agencies have recognised this – saying euphemistically that our crisis is one of political management, not of economic fundamentals.
We cannot focus all of our attention on the real issues – growing the economy, creating jobs and relieving poverty – while we are also trying to prevent our country from being bled dry by looters.
That’s why we must ask South Africans to hit the reset button in an early election, so that we can reinvent our country and our economy.
We need to move away from the nationalist agenda that is suffocating us, and move towards one where individuals are empowered and protected.
We need to nurture our young people – give them an education that means something, and train them to fill the right kinds of jobs.
We need to reintroduce the idea of accountability – not only accountability in government, but for each and every member of society.
We need to find one another and start caring for each other again.
This is the South Africa I want to live in – the South Africa I want to raise my children in and one day leave behind for a next generation.
And the only way we can build this South Africa is if we are prepared to wipe the slate clean and start over.
In some ways, this has already begun. Our politics has entered a phase of realignment – the days of one dominant liberation party are fast coming to an end.
We are making the transition from liberation politics to coalition politics. This has already happened at local government level, where coalitions and strategic partnerships are breathing new life into the cities of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay.
The one-year-in-office briefing by the Mayors of these metros earlier this month painted a picture of renewal and growth in cities that had stalled under their previous corrupt governments.
There is still a long way to go to clean out the rot and turn these cities around, but already the change is evident. And what we’re doing in the metros we can do in national government too.
But this will require millions of South Africans to re-imagine our country. Because the problem in South African politics is not a lack of options, but rather an inability to picture a brand new future.
The truth is, people struggle to imagine a post-ANC South Africa.
And when I say the people, I mean everyone from ordinary voters to voices in the media to business and even opposition parties.
The ANC has always framed so much of our day-to-day life that it is almost impossible to comprehend a South Africa in which they don’t dominate.
I’d like to take some of the responsibility for that. The DA hasn’t always articulated this vision of a post-ANC South Africa as well as we could have.
But we’re working hard at correcting that. Because if we’re going to ask millions of South Africans to do something they’ve never done before – to turn their back on the liberation party – we’re going to have to reassure them of their place in this new society.
I have personally racked up thousands of kilometres over the past six months taking my Change 19 Tour to communities in every province of the country. I have spoken to countless people – mostly poor, often unemployed – who are desperate for a better life.
I have heard stories that will shock you to your core. How men, women and children in our country have to battle incredible odds and do things no one should ever have to do just in order to survive every day.
And all these people have told me they want things to change for them. They want their children to have a better chance at life than they had. They want the freedom that has been spoken about for 23 years now.
But at the same time, they struggle to imagine life without the ANC – the party of their parents’ parents. And understandably so.
Ten years ago, this was also hard to imagine for the people of Cape Town. Just over a year ago it was hard to imagine for the people of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay.
But here we are today. Millions of South Africans wake up every day to life under a DA-run government, and they realise there is the chance of a bright future beyond the ANC.
We now have our work cut out to vindicate the faith these people put in us. And we have a small mountain to climb to get many more South Africans to do so by 2019.
But we’re already hard at work, and that includes strengthening our partnerships in government.
To those who have expressed concerns about coalitions and partnerships, citing the ideological differences between the DA and our partners, I would like to give my reassurance that we will never compromise on our values.
Our Constitution is not, and will never be, up for negotiation. Any coming-together of parties must be to protect our Constitution, not to weaken it.
Any party that shares this value is welcome to join us in re-building South Africa into a prosperous, inclusive country.
But first things first – we must get rid of the clique that is dragging the whole country down. We cannot afford to wait any longer.
The recent threats by ANC MPs to suspend all committee meetings until Makhosi Khoza is dealt with shows how damaging the ANC’s implosion will be for South Africa. Our Parliament will become collateral damage in their self-destruction.
We cannot wait and see what might happen at the ANC’s elective conference, and we cannot wait until the 2019 elections.
Every day the damage under Zuma multiplies, and we’re still almost 600 days away from the next election. We need to act now before there is nothing left to save.
Don’t delude yourself into thinking that Jacob Zuma is on the verge of going peacefully. He is not. If he has his way, he will be in power until 2019, and will remain in power via a proxy for a long time to come even after 2019.
And so we will continue to ask opposition parties as well as members of the ANC to support our call for early elections. If they do not support us, then I hope you will ask them to explain how they can justify keeping power away from the people.
The country is in crisis, the ANC has failed dismally and it no longer holds the confidence of the nation. In this circumstance, I ask what better, more democratic solution there could possibly be than an early election?
Frankly, the only indefensible position to hold in our current context is to oppose the idea of giving the country the chance to be heard.
It can’t be business as usual in South Africa in the wake of the failed No Confidence vote. We can’t just shrug and say: We tried, but it didn’t work.
Jacob Zuma is complicit in the biggest crime our democracy has seen. Every day he spends in office is a travesty of justice and an insult to millions of poor South Africans.
It is time we gave these South Africans the final say in whether Jacob Zuma stays or goes.
Thank you.

Parliament’s State Capture committees must get to work

The DA urges the committees that have been tasked to probe State Capture to begin their important work immediately. To assist in this task, the DA will be tabling the #GuptaLeaks e-mails in the relevant committees this week, on 15 and 16 August.
Tomorrow will be exactly two months since House Chairperson of Committees, Cedric Frolick, directed the chairpersons of the portfolio committees on Home Affairs, Mineral Resources, Public Enterprises and Transport to “urgently probe the [State Capture] allegations and report back to the National Assembly”. The chairpersons were also directed to “ensure immediate engagement with the concerned Ministers to ensure that Parliament gets to the bottom of the allegations”.
All these committees are scheduled to meet this week, but worryingly only the PC’s on Public Enterprises and Mineral Resources are set to busy themselves with State Capture-related matters. Even more worryingly, only one meeting for each of the four committees have so far been scheduled for the Third Term.
The DA previously warned that Frolick, acting entirely outside his powers, was limiting the scope of the State Capture inquiry and without justification. This process is now being frustrated even further by a lack of urgency and action.
Parliament is best placed to deal with State Capture and is empowered to identify perpetrators, including those in the Executive, and hold them accountable. The Legislature has an opportunity to recover from its purposeful bungling of the Nkandla matter and should never again be found wanting.
On 3 August, I wrote to both the House Chairperson and the Acting Secretary to Parliament to plead that these committees be adequately capacitated and staffed. It is now essential that each committee have evidence leaders, researchers and legal advisors appointed to assist in the process of compiling the terms of reference, witness lists and documentation lists.
Too much time has passed since the #GuptaLeaks e-mails exposed the true nature and extent of the Gupta family’s influence over President Jacob Zuma and the ANC government. During last week’s debate on the DA’s Motion of No Confidence in President Zuma, not one speaker from the ANC mentioned the Guptas, clearly showing that their project of State Capture is either wilfully being ignored or endorsed by the ANC.
The DA does not share the ANC’s selective amnesia and will not allow Parliament’s probe into State Capture to be stalled any longer. We heard the clarion call of South Africans who took to the streets countrywide on 8 August, calling for an end to the looting and demanding action.

DA submits motion to dissolve Parliament

I have today submitted a motion calling for the National Assembly to be dissolved. This provision is provided for in Section 50(1) of the Constitution.
It was clear to the Nation on Tuesday that the ANC is willing to do anything to protect President Jacob Zuma, and to keep him in power.
The DA believes that his presidency is no longer supported by the majority of South Africans and thus, with the ANC having failed to remove him on Tuesday, South Africans need to be given the opportunity to make their voices heard at the polls.
That is why Parliament must now be dissolved. This will ensure that South Africa does not have to withstand the devastating effects of Jacob Zuma’s presidency for another two years.
The DA will now push to have our motion moved above the line and debated as soon as possible.
Such a motion requires a majority of the members of the National Assembly to support it in order to pass. It thus provides the ANC with another opportunity to do the right thing. Going to an early election is now the best way to respect the will of the people.
South Africa deserves better than Jacob Zuma and South Africa deserves better than an ANC-led government.

BOKAMOSO | Vote for your hopes, not your fears

The following speech was delivered today by DA Leader, Mmusi Maimane, in the Motion of No Confidence debate in Parliament. 

Madam Speaker.

Honourable Members.

Comrades.

Fighters.

Democrats.

Fellow citizens of this proud nation.

Last week we lost a colleague and a committed Parliamentarian.

Those who worked closely with Honourable Timothy Khoza spoke of his big heart and his concern for others.

He died while performing his duty to his country, and that is how we will remember him: committed to the people, always trying to make a difference.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and his party at this difficult time.

Honourable Members,

We may represent different parties in this House, but we are united in our love for our country and our loyalty to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

We may have different opinions, but we are not enemies.

All of us – black, white, Indian and coloured – want South Africa to work. To be the prosperous nation we know it can be.

I became a Member of Parliament because I wanted to serve the people of this country. I wanted to make a difference.

And I know that most of you are here for the same reason: you want to do what is right, what is just and what is honourable.

We have all travelled a different journey to get here.

Growing up in Soweto in the 1980s I witnessed, like many of you, the sharp end of Apartheid brutality.

And I swore that I would do what I could, with what I have, to fight oppression in this country.

I never imagined that one day I would be here, in this Parliament, fighting a new form of oppression – a corrupt system that keeps our people imprisoned in poverty.

If you had told me that one day our democratically elected President would end up corrupted and captured by a criminal syndicate, I would’ve never believed you.

But here we are. We may have travelled along different roads, but we have arrived at the same destination.

We all have a chance today to do what is right, what is just and what is honourable.

I know many of you are tired of talking about President Zuma and the Guptas. So am I.

And that is why we tabled this motion – so that we can move on from this disastrous chapter and focus on the things that matter for our people.

Honourable Members,

Today is an historic day. Indeed, since the dawn of our democracy, the stakes have never been higher.

Our state has been captured. We know this from the hundreds of thousands of emails that have been leaked.

We know this from the testimony of Members and former Members of this House.

As a result, our economy is in recession and our country has been downgraded to junk status.

While the corrupt quickly exchange their stolen rands into dollars, it is ordinary South Africans who are hit hard.

I have seen the effects of poverty in communities across South Africa.

I have spoken to people who collect spoiled meat from rubbish dumps to feed their families.

I have met mothers who feed their children on sugar water and boiled weeds.

I’ve heard of parents abandoning their babies, and I have heard of good people turning to crime out of sheer desperation.

Life is incredibly hard for poor South Africans.

Bread will cost more tomorrow than it did yesterday.

For many families, the dream of owning their own home grows ever more distant.

Those who rely on social grants are struggling to get by, as their grants can’t keep up with the cost of living.

The value of pensions and savings is shrinking.

There is less money for textbooks, new classrooms and scholar transport.

And there is less work for the millions of young people who have never had a job and have given up looking for one.

Honourable Members,

The choice we face today is simple.

Will we allow one family, aided and abetted by our President, to take everything we have from us?

Or will we, on behalf of the people of South Africa who elected us, take our country back?

The choice before us is not between yellow, red or blue.

It is not about party politics. It is not about which party tabled the motion.

Today our choice is between right and wrong. Between good and evil.

Today we either do what is best for our country, or we turn our back on it.

When we vote today, let us recall the oath of office that each of us swore to uphold:

I swear that I will be faithful to the Republic of South Africa, and will obey, respect and uphold the Constitution and all other law of the Republic. I solemnly promise to perform my functions as a member of the National Assembly to the best of my ability.

Each of us said those words, right here in this House. But saying the words means nothing if we are not prepared to live them too.

Are we, Honourable Members? Are we prepared to uphold the Constitution and the law of the Republic, as we swore we would do?

Voting on a secret ballot means none of us has an excuse. We are all free to follow our conscience.

If we fail to use this opportunity, history will judge us harshly. And the people of South Africa may never forgive us.

I hold out the hope that there are enough people in this House today who will put politics aside and do what is right for the people they were elected to serve.

We are encouraged by the words of former Minister Gordhan when he says:

“I think the president should move aside and let somebody take over this country and reset the course‚ so that we can fulfill the kind of aspirations that Mandela and his generation had for South Africa.”

The question is, Honourable Gordhan, will you play your part in resetting our course today?

We are encouraged by the words of Honourable Hanekom when he says:

“Most MPs are senior members of the ANC – committed to South Africa and our movement. They’ll do what is best for our country.”

The question is, Honourable Hanekom, will you do what is best for our country today?

We take heart from the words of Honourable Ramaphosa when he says about state capture:

“I will not keep quiet and remain numb to what this means for our country and its people. We will not protect those in our own ranks who are involved in these actions.”

The question is, Deputy President Ramaphosa, will you speak out today, when it really matters?

And then there was the frank admission by Honourable Blade Nzimande when he recalled the events that led up to Polokwane in 2007. He said:

“Had we known that our revolution and our struggle were going to be handed over to an immigrant Indian family going by the name of Gupta, we would have behaved differently. We would not have thought that Zuma was the right person to lead the ANC and to lead the alliance or the country, for that matter.”

The question is, Honourable Nzimande, are you prepared to correct your mistake of ten years ago in this House today?

We were moved by the brave words of Honourable Khoza when she told President Zuma:

“South Africa no longer needs you. Uphold the ANC’s constitution, uphold the country’s Constitution and step aside and let moral and ethical leaders lead this country.”

Your vote in favour of the motion today, Honourable Khoza, is the ultimate service to the people.

Honourable Members,

These statements reflect what many, if not most, of you feel.

Aside from the instructions given to the ANC caucus to follow the party line, who within the ANC and its alliance really wants President Zuma to remain?

Among ANC stalwarts, the calls for him to step down have become a deafening chorus, with former presidents leading this chorus.

Former President Kgalema Motlanthe is on record stating that if he were an MP he’d support the motion to remove President Zuma. He said:

“Those people are not hirelings of the ANC. They are public representatives. They take an oath as parliamentarians to be public representatives. They can’t be treated the same way as you treat an ANC branch.”

Former President Thabo Mbeki shared this sentiment when he said:

“It is obvious and logical that MPs must act in Parliament as the voice of the people, not the voice of the political parties to which they might belong.”

Honourable Members,

I know what Nelson Mandela, would have done in this House today. And you know it too.

He once said: “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”

I am asking you today to overcome your fear, to show courage when the people of this country need you.

I am asking you today to vote for hope.

The hope that we can defeat the corruption that oppresses our people.

The hope of a prosperous nation at peace with itself and the world.

The hope that we can make South Africa a better place for our children.

If we do the right thing today, we will give our children a brighter future.

Vote for your hopes, Honourable Members, not your fears. Do the right thing.

Vote with your conscience, and remove this corrupt and broken President from office.

Thank you.

Now is the time to not remain silent, Deputy President Ramaphosa

The following remarks were delivered by DA Leader Mmusi Maimane at an event today where he delivered to Deputy President Ramaphosa a petition signed by 1 million South Africans calling for President Zuma to be fired.
My fellow South Africans,
People often ask me: “What can ordinary South Africans do to save our country from the looting that is taking place?”
People want to step into the fight. They feel justifiably angry, but they also feel powerless. They see the evidence against Jacob Zuma and Guptas piling up like this big, flat mountain here next to us, but to them it seems like the guilty are getting away with it.
And to these people I say: Do everything you possibly can. March with us. Write to an MP. Use your vote. Sign a petition. Exhaust every single avenue. Because together these actions cannot go unnoticed.
Today I have brought with me the signatures of over a million South Africans who did just that. More than a million South Africans who want us, the Members of the National Assembly, to put our country first and fire Jacob Zuma.
And I have brought them here to the steps of Tuynhuys so that I can leave them in the hands of the Deputy President. Because if anyone needs reminding of exactly what must be done to save our country, it is Cyril Ramaphosa.
Mr Ramaphosa, I call on you today to do what you know is the right thing. There is only one ethical and honourable course of action here. You know it, I know it, and every single South African knows it.
We call on you to vote to fire President Zuma in next week’s Motion of No Confidence. We also call on you to use your position as Leader of Government Business to encourage ANC MPs to vote in accordance with their oaths of office, and to vote President Zuma out.
Three weeks ago you told the world that you will not remain quiet when it comes to the looting of our country through state capture. You said:
When things like these are spewing out in our national discourse, we cannot turn a blind eye. We cannot keep quiet. We now know without any shred of uncertainty that billions of Rands of public money have been diverted into the pockets of a few.”
Those are fighting words. But words mean nothing until you put them in action.
For the millions of South Africans who suffer every day in this country under this disastrous government, your loyalty to the ANC means nothing. They want straight answers and they want accountability. They want you to do your job.
And when you say you will not remain silent about those who are looting our country, the people of South Africa want you to speak up where it really matters. Not at an SACP congress. Not in interviews. Not in the media.
No, if you want to show us you are a man of your word – a man of integrity – then raise your voice where it matters. As the Leader of Government Business, you are arguably the most influential voice in the cabinet and in the ANC caucus. This is where you must not remain silent.
Because if you’re out there in the spotlight of the media saying one thing, but doing the exact opposite in the benches of the ANC and behind the closed doors of caucus and cabinet meetings, then there is only one conclusion South Africans can draw: You cannot be trusted.
Apart from your own sworn duty to your country – which compels you to do the right thing and vote in favour of the Motion of No Confidence next week – you have a responsibility to hold your ANC colleagues to their duty too.
Some of these colleagues have spoken out recently and said that they intend to vote with their conscience. MP’s like Makhosi Khoza, Pravin Gordhan and Mondli Gungubele. But these people have been threatened with disciplinary action – even with their jobs. Is this what you fear too, Mr Ramaphosa?
It seems that if you have a conscience in the ANC, you are done. This is something Gwede Mantashe confirmed on Monday when he said: “If they had a conscience, they should have discovered it before they agreed to be in Parliament on an ANC list.”
Surely this cannot be true, Mr Ramaphosa? Gwede Mantashe must be wrong. Surely there must be space within your party for men and women to act with courage of conviction; to put South Africa first.
We’ve been here on seven occasions in the past. And in seven previous Motion of No Confidence votes you and your colleagues in the ANC benches chose to stand behind a corrupt president rather than the people of South Africa.
This eighth vote will likely be the last chance you will have to prove yourselves. If you fail to use it, you will sink along with the ANC.
Whether by secret ballot or open ballot, there is only one possible correct vote on this motion. Anything other than support for the motion will be a dereliction of your duty, and this includes a choice to abstain from voting.
Anyone who aspires to the highest office in the land has to stand with the people. This should go without saying.
The signatures in these boxes represent the will of the people. There is no grey area when it comes to what is expected of you. The ball is in your court now. Let your conscience guide you, and know that the people will not forget your decision.
Thank you.

DA rejects Parliament’s half-baked state capture “probe” and reiterates need for ad hoc committee

The DA is angered by the 19 June announcement by Parliament that a select number of parliamentary committees have been directed to “urgently probe” allegations of state capture and report back to the National Assembly. This is an ANC attempt to shield President Jacob Zuma and the executive from answering to serious State Capture evidence.
This half-baked “probe” has been introduced by the ANC in bad faith and without any effort to gain multi-party agreement.
It is especially exasperating considering the ongoing discussions taking place in the Chief Whips’ Forum around Parliament’s response to allegations of state capture and the “special meeting” of the Forum which is scheduled to discuss, among other things, the Public Protector’s State of Capture Report on Wednesday, 21 June.
The instruction, reportedly issued by House Chairperson of Committees, Cedric Frolick, for the chairpersons of the portfolio committees on Home Affairs, Mineral Resources, Public Enterprises and Transport to “ensure immediate engagement with the concerned Ministers to ensure that Parliament gets to the bottom of the allegations” is both disingenuous and an attempt at subterfuge. It is also unclear by what authority the Chairperson has issued this instruction as his authority is limited to “implement[ing] policy or guidelines on the scheduling and co-ordination of meetings of all committees”. Portfolio committees may initiate probes themselves or can be instructed to do so by the House; the Chairperson does not have that authority.
This proposal was never brought before the Chief Whips’ Forum for discussion and, as such, ignores the opinion of 12 parties representing millions of voters in Parliament.
Furthermore, the investigation into state capture cannot be narrowly reduced to those four portfolios and cannot be effectively carried out by “engaging” the concerned Ministers as several ministers are at the heart of the state capture allegations.
Indeed, this proposed course of action conveniently side-steps the most prominent member of the Executive, President Jacob Zuma, whose relationship with the Gupta family is the very nexus of the state capture allegations.
On Wednesday, 21 June, the DA will once again lobby support for our draft resolution into the establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee on State Capture. This committee will be the only way in which Parliament will be able to hold the entire Executive to account, including the president and deputy ministers, and can easily conduct its business in concert with the relevant portfolio committees.
To illustrate, the Ad Hoc Committee on State Capture can begin its enquiry “into [the] undue influence by certain individuals over the executive in their exercise of executive authority” precisely as the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises begins its inquiry into Eskom, a process which is scheduled to commence on 21 June. The DA has consistently lobbied for portfolio committees to carry out inquiries into allegations of state capture, especially those actions targeting our state-owned entities (SOEs). However, recent allegations have shown that the tentacles of state capture extends well beyond a clutch of SOEs and certainly beyond the four committees tasked with carrying out this “Parliamentary probe”. The DA recognises the sterling work done by portfolio committees in the recent past, but we cannot afford “probes” that pass the blame to officials and let members of the Executive off the hook.
Consider the case of former Minister of Communications and current Minister of Public Service and Administration, Faith Muthambi: how will the proposed “probe” deal with the allegations that she sent confidential information on cabinet meetings to the Guptas? How will this “probe” deal with the well-ventilated accusations, also confirmed by then-Deputy Minister of Finance, Mcebisi Jonas, that the Guptas were aware and possibly influenced Cabinet appointments? The “probe” also conveniently glosses over key departments which have allegedly been targets of state capture in recent times, including the departments of Finance, Communications and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
Agreement was reached during last week’s Chief Whips’ Forum that Parliament should never again be found wanting, as was the case with the Nkandla debacle. However, instead of dealing decisively with the scourge of state capture, the ANC in Parliament are weaseling out by choosing to implement a damage containment strategy. This is the wrong choice to make and will once again leave Parliament exposed to accusations of failing to perform its effective oversight role.
The DA is undeterred and will continue to fight for the creation of an Ad Hoc Committee on State Capture.

Public Protector’s “new investigation” shields Zuma, cabinet

The Public Protector, Adv. Busisiwe Mkhwebane, announced last night that her office will conduct a “preliminary investigation” to determine the merits of several allegations of corruption and unlawful enrichment emanating from the infamous “Gupta Leaks” – a tranche of leaked emails which implicate a host of Cabinet Ministers, Gupta-Owned Companies, public officials and State-Owned Entities in grand corruption and abuse of state power and resources.
In her statement released last night, Adv. Mkhwebane stated the following would be investigated:

  • Improper or dishonest act, or omission or offences referred to in Part 1 to 4, or section 17, 20 or 21 (in so far as it relates to the aforementioned offences) of Chapter 2 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004, with respect to public funds at Eskom, PRASA and Transnet; 
  • Improper or unlawful enrichment, or receipt of any improper advantage, or promise of such enrichment or advantage, by certain public officials at Eskom, PRASA and Transnet;

It is clear from this announcement that the preliminary investigation is far too narrow, and only includes cherry-picked State Owned Entities, while ignoring the role played by Jacob Zuma, his Cabinet Ministers, and the Guptas through their companies – as well as other SOEs.
Therefore, as the initial complainant in the State of Capture report, I will today be writing to the Public Protector, indicating my objection to this narrow investigation, and to request that she broaden the scope of the investigation to include every single individual, company, and State Owned Entity implicated in the leaked emails, including:

  • Cabinet Ministers Mosebenzi Zwane, Des Van Rooyen, Malusi Gigaba, Lynne Brown, and Faith Muthambi, as well as Free State Premier Ace Magashule;
  • Gupta-controlled companies Sahara Computers, Oakbay Investments, Mabengela Investments, Zestilor, Tegeta Exploration and Resources, and Elgasolve; and
  • State-Owned Entities Denel and South African Airways (SAA)

It appears that this investigation has been crafted as narrowly as possible to create the veneer of a state capture investigation, while at the same time protecting the real power brokers in state capture. The Public Protector has a duty to protect the public from the abuse of power, not to protect the President, his cabinet ministers and the Guptas.
Notwithstanding this new investigation by the Public Protector, the DA is pursuing several other avenues to hold those involved in the unlawful looting and sale of our country to account.
Earlier this month, I laid an array of criminal charges against President Jacob Zuma, members of the Gupta family, several Cabinet Ministers and senior executives of State Owned Entities, and other individuals alleged to be key players in the criminal syndicate that has captured large elements of the South African state.
The DA has also called for the establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee in the National Assembly. As detailed in our motion, the committee will be tasked with investigating evidence of “undue influence by certain individuals over the exercise of executive authority in South Africa”.
Lastly, the DA is in court fighting for the establishment of a Judicial Commission of Inquiry  – recommended by former Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, in her State of Capture report – which President Zuma is fighting tooth and nail to block.
The DA will pursue every available avenue until the corrupt State Capture project that has undermined and crippled key institutions of the state is stopped and the ANC is removed from power.
We must end this grand-scale corruption so that we can focus on growing the economy and creating jobs for the 9.3 million unemployed South Africans.