DA welcomes Treasury’s proposal to sell Eskom’s coal stations

On Tuesday, the Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni, released an economic strategy paper which sets out practical proposals for reforms needed to get the economy growing, including selling some of Eskom’s coal-fired plants as part of restructuring the state-owned power utility.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes this move which is in line with our Cheaper Energy Bill. We hold the view that this proposal will free up billions of rands which Eskom and our economy desperately needs.

Treasury’s proposed move will also help Independent Power Producers (IPP) enter into the energy industry by giving them rare access to the national grid and allowing them to sell their output – thus reducing Eskom’s hegemony and control of almost the entire electricity industry.

If implemented, it will indicate that government is serious about attracting investment in the sector by allowing private entities to become power producers.

Treasury’s proposals on Eskom are in line with the DA’s Cheaper Energy Bill, which is an alternative plan to save and stabilise Eskom to secure South Africa’s power supply. Breaking Eskom into two separate entities – a generation entity which is privatised and a transmission/distribution entity and ensure that South Africa is not being forced to pay for the corruption and mismanagement which has taken place at Eskom.

The DA will be sending a summary of the Cheaper Energy Bill to Minister Mboweni and request a meeting to discuss the contents thereof. We were serious when we stated that we intend on being a constructive opposition where the ANC government puts the progress of our country first.

Minister Mboweni’s proposals can only be effective if they are implemented. We can almost certainly expect, that it will face stubborn resistance from certain factions within the ANC that is bent on radical policies of increased state control over every aspect of the economy.

That said, the DA will continue to fight for an efficient and well managed Eskom, which will put the interests of the country first because South Africans deserve reliable energy to the economy to empower people to grow the economy and create jobs for the millions of unemployed South Africans.

We believe that politics and ideology should not stand in the way of solutions that seek to get the power utility back to sustainable levels – in fact such solutions must be applauded and supported by all South African.

We need Eskom to fix its damaged finances that almost brought our economy to a brink of a collapse.

We will closely monitor the developments and hope that this turnaround strategy will be implemented in a transparent manner, so that citizens who will be affected by the changes can be the center of the solutions.

NSFAS tells Parliament it awarded tenders to VBS Bank

In today’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, NSFAS Administrator, Dr. Randall Carolissen revealed that NSFAS awarded a tender to the defunct VBS Mutual Bank to disburse allowances to students at TVET colleges.

This is an outrageous revelation in that NSFAS has remained tight-lipped throughout the entire VBS scandal, never once being transparent over the fact that a tender probably worth millions of Rands was awarded to this corrupt entity.

For many years the Democratic Alliance (DA) has been inundated with complaints from students at TVET colleges with regards to the fact that they often receive allowances very late. Many students have gone hungry, been evicted from their accommodation or have had to resort to loan sharks because their allowances often never arrived. It is a deplorable fact that money meant to fund the education of deserving and poor students, was awarded to VBS in the form of a tender that did not even meet PFMA requirements.

NSFAS claims that they awarded the tender to VBS in 2017, and that the contract was subsequently terminated following revelations of the VBS Heist. When the DA asked the NSFAS Administrator whether anyone had been held accountable, they did not answer, and stated that the Minister at the time was made aware of the tender.

A forensic investigation is currently underway to probe who was responsible for the decision to award the tender to VBS.

It is completely unacceptable that an entity mandated to provide education opportunities to the poorest members of our society has possibly lost millions to VBS. Worse still, NSFAS also revealed to the Committee that they currently do not have the necessary infrastructure to disburse allowances to TVET students, and institutions have been left to disburse the funds themselves. This has often resulted in the money being used for other items, rather than allowances.

It is now clear that the corruption surrounding the VBS scandal transcends local government and extends to a national level.

There are still far more questions than there are answers regarding the information revealed today and the DA will post further Parliamentary Questions, including:

  • How much the VBS  contract was worth?
  • Which TVET colleges were effected by the VBS contract?
  • Whether the contract was awarded before or after National Treasury warned municipalities to remove their money from the bank?
  • Who signed-off on the contract?
  • Whether the money has been recouped?
  • Whether anyone been held accountable for the investment and the losses?

The DA is of the view that this is a matter of national and public importance and that NSFAS must be completely transparent in its responses.

Countless of people lost their hard-earned life savings when the politically connected raided VBS’ coffers for their own personal gains, whilst many others have possibly been robbed of an opportunity to access an education.

DA opposed to SABC’s bid to increase TV licence fees

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is opposed to the South African Broadcast Corporation’s (SABC) proposal to increase TV license fees.

Briefing the Select Committee on Public Enteprises and Communications in the NCOP today, the SABC’s CFO, Yolande van Biljon stated that a proposal to increases TV licenses fees had been drafted and sent to the Minister of Communications, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams.

The DA is opposed to any additional – what would be in essence – taxation of already over-burdened South African taxpayers, as well as those who are impoverished and struggling to put food on the table.

We call on the public broadcaster to find new revenue streams to stay afloat instead of imposing increases to TV licenses fees.

The SABC needs to find innovative measures to strengthen their collection of revenue as poor South Africans will, without doubt, be unlikely to afford increased licence fees.

The SABC must position itself as a trustworthy and properly managed entity to encourage current TV licence holders to make payments.

Furthermore, the broadcaster should explore purchasing content that will attract viewers – by doing so doing, they will see an increase in advertising revenue. Advertising makes out the bulk of the SABC’s revenue, and an increase in advertising will surely be a boost for the SABC.

We look forward to feedback regarding funding of the SABC – especially given the fact that the public broadcaster is still reeling from the financial consequences of well-chronicled years of mismanagement, looting and governance failures.

The public should not have to pay for the SABC’s sins through additional TV license fees. We trust that the current SABC management will prove its mettle, by steering the SABC to a profitable position
The DA will continue to hold the SABC accountable, in order to ensure that it delivers accessible broadcast to all South Africans.

SA Express grounded: now is the time for privatisation

The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes reports indicating that the entire fleet of SA Express has been grounded, allegedly due to operational challenges. No information has been made available about when flights will resume. The DA maintains that the airline needs to be either partly or fully privatised, as it is incapable of efficient standard operation under government ownership.

The part or full privatisation of SA Express, as with other state-owned entities, comes with a myriad of advantages. Particularly job and revenue security. Privatisation for SA Express brings with it the introduction of much-needed capital, promotion of competition, and efficiency.

The main objectives of privatisation in the context SOEs are to reduce the impact of government guarantees on the fiscus, and assist  in the development of an economic context that promotes industrial competitiveness and stimulates job creation.

Given the incredulous amount of people’s money spent on keeping SA Express in the air, Government could have undoubtedly created hundreds of thousands of new job opportunities across other sectors.

The fact of the matter is that SOEs are costing South Africans a great deal more than what they are getting in return and the rationale for Government retaining full ownership of SA Express and SAA, as well as a number of other defunct SOEs such as Eskom, has lost all credibility.

DA welcomes Tito Mboweni’s economic reform strategy

The DA welcomes the economic strategy paper released by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, which sets out practical proposals for reforms needed to get the economy growing.

The proposed reforms are pro-growth and pro-jobs, and should be implemented as soon as possible. The opponents of inclusive market-based policies in the ANC will now work to smother this reform. The Minister must not be intimated by the enemies of growth in his own party. Now is the time to stare down the radical forces destroying the country’s prosperity, and he will have our support in doing so.

The proposals are sure to be opposed and undermined at every turn by the radical left of the ANC, a faction that is bent on ever-more state control over every aspect of the economy, to facilitate looting and to protect incumbents.

The proposed reforms centre on the understanding that only a growing economy can deliver real prosperity and more revenue for the state to spend on social services. The paper also recognises that in order to grow, the economy must rely less on state control, that fiscal discipline is a virtue, and that government must welcome competition with existing state monopolies. There is also a focus on global competitiveness and making it easier to run a small business. All of this is welcome.

In different times, this set of reforms may be criticised as being too modest or insufficiently ambitious. Certainly, the DA would encourage the Minister to be even bolder in his reform agenda, to include explicit commitments to privatisation, a greater focus on competition rather than on administered prices, and a commitment to allow functioning local governments to take over rail networks. Nevertheless, any move towards inclusive market based reforms is to be supported.

Minister Naledi Pandor, break your silence on Zimbabwe turmoil

After a protracted period of clashes between the police and protestors, violent crackdown of opposition voices and news of food shortages – the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, and the South African Government have remained deafeningly silent over the turmoil, violence and unrest in Zimbabwe. Reports have repeatedly indicated great suffering and several instances in which the basic human rights of Zimbabwean citizens have been abused.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to Minister Pandor to break her silence and inform the nation of government’s official stance on the degenerating situation in the country. In terms of Rule 133 of the Rules of the National Assembly, a member of Cabinet can request the Speaker for an opportunity to make “a factual or policy statement relating to government policy, any executive action or other similar matter”.

It is clear that things in our neighbouring country are getting progressively worse, and that Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration is merely a continuation of Robert Mugabe’s era of repressive, violent brutality. In January this year, protests erupted with regards to the economic crisis the nation faced. President Mnangagwa responded to these protests with repressive state action, which resulted in the death of seventeen people, while an additional 954 citizens were jailed nationwide.

This repressive state response has resurfaced over the past week, when the opposition, Movement for Democratic Chance (MDC), and civic activists were prevented from marching against the rapid deterioration of Zimbabwe’s economy. Zimbabwe has since been engulfed in political and economic turmoil, with reports of abductions and the beating of a political satirist.

These escalating levels of violence have also been accompanied by reports that the country is facing severe food shortages.

South Africa cannot continue to remain silent in this matter, as we have a moral obligation to speak out against human rights abuses – irrespective of historic ties to the offender.

The ANC government must put its loyalties to President Mnangagwa’s tyrannical dictatorship aside and put the interests of the Zimbabwean people first. Zimbabweans deserve to be governed by fair democratic principles, which enshrine the protection of human rights, including the right to protest and freedom of speech, without fear of experiencing coercive violence at the hands of those in power.

Advocate Mkhwebane’s removal deserves Parliament’s undivided attention

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the decision taken today by the portfolio committee on Justice and Correctional Services to refer the issue regarding the removal of the Public Protector back to the Speaker of the National Assembly in order for the Rules Committee to consider the adoption of rules governing the process.

The DA wrote to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Thandi Modise, on 23 May 2019 requesting that Parliament institute removal proceedings against the Public Protector in terms of section 194 of the Constitution. We directed further correspondence to the Speaker’s office on 22 July 2019 requesting that the matter be expedited. This followed upon the Constitutional Court ruling that upheld, with some scathing commentary, a personal costs order against the Public Protector in the infamous Reserve Bank matter.

The DA has since obtained a legal opinion which recommends that Parliament should first adopt rules governing how removal proceedings in terms of section 194 should be conducted, in order to ensure that all parties enjoy legal and procedural certainty.

We therefore fully support the decision taken by today’s meeting of the portfolio committee, and are hopeful that it signifies that Parliament is approaching the matter with the care and attention it deserves.

The DA strongly believes that Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane is not a fit and proper person to occupy the office of the Public Protector. The Constitutional Court itself has found that the Public Protector acted in bad faith and was not honest with the High Court regarding her investigation process in the Reserve Bank matter. That the Constitutional Court upheld an order that Advocate Mkhwebane, the incumbent head of a Chapter 9 institution, personally pay the legal costs in proceedings instituted against her office, is no small matter and it deserves the full and undivided attention of Parliament. There are moreover numerous further instances in which the Public Protector has acted improperly, which should not fall by the wayside.

Section 194 of the Constitution is quite clear that Parliament is the correct body to consider and decide upon the removal of the Public Protector. Section 194(3) states that the President must remove a person from office upon the adoption by the Assembly of a resolution calling for that person’s removal.

The DA does not believe Advocate Mkhwebane is up to the job, and we will not rest in our efforts to ensure that South Africans are given the Public Protector they deserve.

Gavin Watson: Thorough and transparent investigation needed to determine facts from conspiracies

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has noted reports confirming that BOSASA executive, Gavin Watson, was killed in an accident during the early hours of Monday morning.

The police need to probe the circumstances leading up to the fateful accident involving the BOSASA boss, whose company has billions of Rands worth of tenders with the government and has channelled millions of Rands into the coffers of the ANC in general and specifically the campaign of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The death of Gavin Watson may have a material impact on the work of the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, it is therefore vital, given SAPS stating that a case of “culpable homicide” has been opened, that even a whiff of foul play is dispelled by a thorough and transparent investigation by the SAPS. This is to ensure that other witnesses are not intimated by this incident and for the Commission of Inquiry to conduct its work without fear or favour.

Angelo Agrizzi’s testimony as well as the revelations by DA Leader Mmusi Maimane of the cosy and potentially corrupt relationship BOSASA has with the ANC and Ramaphosa, indicate that Gavin Watson had a lot to say before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry.

We call upon the SAPS to take the nation into its confidence once an investigation into the death of Gavin Watson is completed.

We extend our condolences to his family and loved ones during this time.

DA to request urgent clarity from Treasury regarding NHI funding.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes media reports that National Treasury is preparing a financing paper on the Nation Health Insurance (NHI) which is expected to detail how much the scheme will cost and how it will be funded. The DA is concerned that the Health Department published the Bill without proper consultation with National Treasury about the costs involved.

This makes it clear that the Ministers of Health and Finance are at variance with one another.

Two weeks ago, the Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize and President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that NHI will be implemented regardless of the costs. However, Treasury is busy scrambling trying to figure out how this ill-conceived policy proposal will be funded.

What is now needed is clarity from the Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, about the work that has been done by Treasury and the Health Department, on the funding model for NHI. It is clear that South Africa cannot afford the implementation of NHI from a fiscal perspective and that it will do little to provide Universal Health Care for our people. The DA has therefore written to Minister Mboweni to urgently request that he clarifies what Treasury’s position is in terms of the financing of this Bill.

The DA has long held that Universal Health Care is necessary. It is important that we move towards it because too many people have left behind in the past 25 years and been subjected to a poor public health system.

What is clear is that the current health system is under severe pressure from decades of mismanagement, corruption, under-investment and superfluous spending. It is, therefore, the DA’s first priority to invest in the public health system to bring it to the same level as private health facilities.

Contrary to the NHI, the DA’s Sizani Universal Healthcare will truly achieve providing South Africans with quality health care, thus achieving Universal Healthcare in line with global trends.

The Sizani plan would ensure the following:

  • It will be funded through the current budget envelop which would include the tax benefit afforded to medical aid clients;
  • It would strengthen primary healthcare as the interface of health with many communities;
  • It would invest heavily in the provision of maternal and child health services and the training and provision of healthcare professionals;
  • It would reinforce the powers of the provinces by ensuring that they are funded and equipped to provide quality healthcare to all

The DA will continue to take a stand against this NHI Bill in its current form and we will use every avenue available to us to ensure that this disastrous bill does not destroy the health system and the South African economy.

DA requests DBE to appear before Parliament following failed Multiple Exam Opportunity programme  

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has requested that the Director General of the Department of Basic Education, Hubert Mweli, appear before the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, in order to address the complete failure of the Multiple Exam Opportunity system.

The Department’s plan to have “progressed matric pupils” write exams over two years has a success rate of only 8%. According to recent reports, of the 78 363 pupils who wrote their exam papers over two years, only 6 320 passed. Subsequently 10 465 pupils dropped out of the system completely and did not even complete all their remaining papers in the second set of exams.

We need to understand how more than 60 000 pupils failed, 10 000 pupils dropped out and what interventions the Department implemented to ensure that these pupils, who eventually wrote the examinations, were in fact prepared.

Independent experts are of the opinion that the Department has not provided these pupils with sufficient support. This is critical since these pupils were progressed to grade 12 after failing grade 11 more than once.

We are well aware that Minister Angie Motshekga has announced that the two-year system will be scrapped from next year, however, the DA still believes that the committee deserves an explanation as to what went wrong with the programme.

The policy of progressing learners who have failed more than once requires that the Department provide a large amount of commitment and support to such learners. It is our duty to ensure these learners receive the  best levels of support, so that they may have a chance to achieve what they were originally unable to do alone, and to ensure that they are fully equipped to enter the jobs market.