New NDPP will have to tend to Ramaphosa’s Bosasagate without fear or favour

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has taken note of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s appointment of Advocate Shamila Batohi as the new National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP).

The DA expects to see the new NDPP tackle state capture head-on as one of her first priorities. This means, among other things, reinstituting charges against the accused in the Estina dairy matter, ensuring that former president Zuma’s application for a permanent stay of prosecution is vigorously opposed, and taking urgent steps to secure the extradition of members of the Gupta family in order to face justice in South Africa.

Tackling state capture head-on also means making sure that the donation from controversial Bosasa CEO, Gavin Watson, to the President’s campaign fund, is investigated and if necessary prosecuted without fear or favour

Less glamorous but of equal importance is the hard work that will be required to get the NPA back up and running. This involves increasing prosecutors’ court time, improving conviction rates, filling vacancies, and appointing men and women with the necessary independence, insight and single-minded fortitude into senior management positions. Only if the NPA is led with integrity will it be capable of attracting quality prosecutors and aspirant prosecutors.

Batohi has a momentous task ahead of her. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has been systematically eviscerated under successive NDPPs, permanent as well as acting, and is currently a shadow of its former self. It will take years to restore what was lost under politically captured individuals such as Menzi Simelane, Nomgcobo Jiba and Shaun Abrahams.

The DA congratulates Advocate Shamila Batohi on her appointment.

Batohi is vastly experienced. In the first decade of democratic South Africa she served on a high-level task team investigating Apartheid-era hit squads, and lead the evidence against Hansie Cronje before the King Commission. She was also the Director of Public Prosecutions of KZN and is a proven good administrator.

We will hold the new NDPP to the high standards South Africans deserve. She can depend on our support when they do the job required by law and can also be sure that if they fail to do so, we will hold them to account. The DA wishes Batohi well in her new position, and we hope to see results very soon.

The Constitution is not the impediment to land reform, the ANC is

The following speech was delivered today in the National Assembly by DA Team One SA Spokesperson on Land, Thandeka Mbabama MP

Madame Speaker,

The Democratic Alliance (DA) acknowledges that effective land reform must be prioritised and pursued with greater urgency to redress past land dispossessions. South Africa suffers from a history of black people being denied land ownership, but to address this we do not need to change the Constitution, we need to change the government. The DA wants all South Africans to own their land and property. We want landowners, not tenants.

Let us be clear: effective land reform is possible without threatening food security, without undermining commercial farming, without destroying social cohesion and without changing our Bill of Rights.

It is obvious that, from the onset, the integrity of the Joint Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) was compromised by collusion between the wily EFF and the beleaguered ANC. It was apparent that the tail was wagging the dog as the red berets ran roughshod over the two cowering ANC chairpersons and all but took over the process of the CRC. One of the chairpersons ultimately resigned from the committee amid the Bosasa scandal.

When their duplicity was pointed out, the EFF reacted with the usual impertinence that is so characteristic of these rude, rabble-rousing red berets who surely have had no parental guidance in their formative years. Andizukuthetha nokuthetha ke ngezinye ingqeqe ezikhonkotha ecaleni kwe EFF ne ANC … they are just cheerleaders masquerading as independent political parties.

The DA would like to state upfront that the recommendation of the CRC to amend the Constitution to allow for expropriation without compensation was a foregone conclusion. That is why ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa cynically made a late night announcement on TV in July that the ruling party had decided to go ahead with changing the Constitution to allow for expropriation without compensation. This was before the committee had even started its work in the Western Cape, thus reducing the whole process to a farce. Even now the NCOP is set to debate this report tomorrow, despite the fact that this house has not adopted it yet.

Isn’t it obvious to South Africans what is actually happening here? It was certainly obvious to the ANC in 2017 when debating and voting against expropriation without compensation in this very House, ANC Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu said: “Section 25 of our constitution is more of an abler for land reform than a barrier. We failed to take advantage of its provisions, full stop.”

He added: “Blaming the Constitution for the embarrassingly slow pace of land reform is both disingenuous and scapegoating. We failed, finish en klaar.”

Hundreds of thousands of South Africans agreed with this sentiment in their written and oral submissions.

People like Ntate Rakgatse from Limpopo who has been working on his farm and paying the government rent for more than forty years and still does not own it. Do you think he truly believes that the ruling party will give him a title deed after amending the Constitution?

Bantu base Gwatyu in the Eastern Cape, nabanye abanjengani, will changing the Constitution make the government give you the title deed to your land? The one that you have been fighting for all these years?

Will amending the Constitution revive all the failed restitution and redistribution farms lying fallow and miraculously turn them into well-run profitable entities?

Will amending the Constitution get rid of the corruption we saw in Mala Mala, Mpumalanga, and the Estina Dairy farm near Vrede in the Free State?

Kubantu bethu abahlala ematyotyombeni … nicinguba lorulumente uzakuninika izindlu ne titile zazo emva kokuba etshintshe le Constitution?

HAYI ANDIQONDI!

Changing the Constitution to allow for expropriation without compensation is just a political ploy to get votes out of desperate, vulnerable people.

The DA knows there is a better way to implement successful land reform. The DA is obsessed with making people landowners, by providing over 100 000 title deeds where we govern.

Under a DA government, you will own your land, not rent it; your property rights will be protected; you will own your RDP house; your land claim will be settled, and you will receive the support to farm successfully.

The DA will bring change that builds one South Africa for all its people. We reject the report of the Constitutional Review Committee.

DA will challenge legality of Constitutional Review process should land report pass

The following statement was delivered in Parliament today by the Chief Whip of the Democratic Alliance John Steenhuisen MP. Steenhuisen was joined by the DA Members on the Constitutional Review Committee, Thandeka Mbabama MP, Glynnis Breytenbach MP, Annelie Lotriet MP and Vusumzi Magwebu MP.

Today, Parliament is set to debate and vote on the flawed Constitutional Review Committee Report. The report recommends that Section 25 of the Constitution be amended to allow for land expropriation without compensation.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is completely committed to redressing the history of violent land dispossession in South Africa and we recognise the unjust legacy left by this dispossession. We view land reform as a social justice imperative which all South African must rally around.

This is why the DA will be joined this afternoon by representatives from the Gwatyu Community Property Association (CPA), who have been fighting for the return of their land.

The Gwatyu community, who reside in rural Eastern Cape, consists of 1 500 members who remain tenants of the land they live on, at the mercy of the failing ANC government. Their fight is for the security of tenure of the land that they live on so that they can work their own land and be freed from government control. The DA has provided legal assistance to the community and we will continue to demand that the land is returned to the people of Gwatyu. Expropriation without compensation will not provide land to the Gwatyu community, only providing ownership and title will. The Gwatyu community is not the only that will remain landless and not realize their economic potential if the efforts of the ANC and EFF are acceded to in the house today. For too long, black South Africans who have been dispossessed of land that was historically and violently taken away, have been tenants in the land of their birth. What the EFF and the ANC are proposing is to continue that cycle of dispossession. The DA commits itself to taking this fight to the highest court of the land if Parliament does not send this report back to the Constitutional Review Committee.

The DA will today once again reaffirm this commitment to land reform by voting against the adoption of the flawed Constitutional Review report. We have warned the Committee throughout the process, that to change the Bill of Rights for the first time in our history, requires due processes to be followed.

The DA has consulted with our lawyers and we understand the processes to follow. Should the ANC and EFF vote to adopt this flawed report in both the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces, the DA will not hesitate to approach the courts. AfriForum failed in their court bid because they failed to allow Parliament to complete its processes. It is key that Parliament is given the scope to do its work.

We therefore implore on all parties to do the right thing and reject this report.

The Committee report has serious procedural flaws, specifically in relation to the public participation process which is mandated by Section 59, 72 and 118 of the Constitution. The ANC and EFF were dogged in their determination to ignore the over 80% of written submissions which opposed the amendment of Section 25 during the public participation process.  The written submissions report has not been finalised, yet the ANC and EFF approved the final report. This is proof that the process was merely a smokescreen for what was ultimately a predetermined outcome. The consequences of proceeding with this tarnished process will effectively silence thousands of people who participated in the process. Silencing the thousands of people who came out to voice their opinions on expropriation without compensation which will lead nationalisation of land instead of ownership of land, is against the principles of the Constitution. It is no surprise though because both the EFF and the ANC have shown disdain and disregard for the Constitution on numerous occasions. However, the rest of the parties represented in Parliament have an opportunity to do what is right today.

The consequences of land expropriation without compensation is real and could have devastating implications on a country already ravaged by unprecedented unemployment, a collapsing economy, sky-high food prices and poverty. Land reform should never be used as a tool to score cheap political points or to use the scars of the past to further divide our nation. It is now more important than ever to acknowledge that the Constitution is not the barrier to land reform but rather, corruption, constrained budgets and a lack of political will by the failing ANC.

The debate on expropriation allows the ANC a ‘get out of jail free’ card. It gives them the perfect cover to avoid having to explain their rank failure over two decades to take land reform seriously. Systematic issues in the land reform programme have proved to be the major stumbling block in the land reform process that has led to the over 90% failure of such projects.

The ANC and their policy directorate, the EFF, are forging ahead with their plans to further expand their Coalition of Corruption by equipping the state with enormous power to deprive citizens of ownership. The ANC has proven over the past 24 years that they are not equipped or willing to effect real land reform, rather using their power to enrich themselves and further exploit communities that have been waiting for the return of their land.

South Africa requires a land policy which will ensure that black beneficiaries of land reform are empowered and supported through adequate funding of such programmes, a ruthless rooting out of corruption, and the political will to implement properly. Where the DA governs we have prioritised urban land reform by creating homeowners out of nearly 100 000 beneficiaries, facilitate partnerships and provided adequate support and funding for emerging farmers. Surely this is true economic freedom and none of this would be achieved through expropriating without compensation.

The DA reiterates that South Africa doesn’t have a Constitutional problem, we have an ANC problem.

By arguing for expropriation without compensation, the ANC has been gifted the perfect scapegoat to explain away its own failure. Even if the ANC and EFF are determined to continue this misguided path, the Constitution will likely only be amended after the 2019 election. As such, South Africans have the opportunity to send a clear message at the ballot box next year, to stop the ANC and EFF from capturing a two-thirds majority and vote for a party that can deliver land reform.

The Democratic Alliance believes that South Africa belongs to all who live in it and we will continue to fight for the protection and expansion of individual property rights for all.

ANC meddles in SABC board chaos

Please find attached an English soundbite by Phumzile Van Damme MP.

The DA can confirm that two South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board members, John Mattison and Khanyisile Kweyama have indeed resigned from the public broadcaster. At this stage, it appears no official resignation letters has been sent to the SABC, Parliament or the President. We can also confirm that there has been no third resignation yet, but we have been reliably informed that Krish Naidoo was asked to resign from the board by Luthuli House and has thus far not done so.

Mattison’s resignation from the board is unfortunate, he has decades of experience in the broadcasting sector and institutional knowledge which would have served the board well in its current financial dire straits. Kweyama was simply over-committed, with being Chairperson of the Passenger Rail Association of South African (PRASA), Brand SA as well as serving on other boards.

We trust that Mattison and Kweyama’s resignations do not have to do with the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) investigation into the awarding of a security tender by the interim board in which they served. The tender was awarded to Mafoko Security by the interim board in 2017 despite it being ranked second in a bidding process. The interim board allegedly overruled its own supply chain processes, ignored National Treasury and its own lawyers’ advice in awarding the tender to Mafoko.

In July this year, the President issued a Proclamation for the SIU to investigate the awarding of the contract valued at over R185 million.

The SIU has found that:

  • the contract was awarded irregularly and;
  • there was financial misconduct and contravention of section 86(3) of the PFMA and contravention of sections 38 and 45 of the PFMA for failing to act in the best interest of the SABC

The SIU confirmed in Parliament last week that it is preparing criminal and disciplinary referrals regarding the awarding of the security tender and had submitted a status update on the investigation to the SABC board Chairperson, Bongumusa Makhathini on 14 September 2018. An interim report was provided to the President on 30 November 2018 and a final report is anticipated for release on 31 March 2019. We await this report for full investigation and findings on the awarding of this tender.

We are also aware that the ANC is allegedly trying to collapse the SABC board by rendering it inquorate and therefore unable to make any legally binding decisions. It is election season, and the ANC does not want an independent board. The SABC is key in communicating the ANC’s “good story,” and an independent board that won’t take instructions (as we saw this weekend with the new Minister) would be most undesirable for the ANC.

The ANC is using the excuse of “saving jobs” by halting retrenchments, but it knows full well that the SABC is commercially insolvent and its staff bloated. The only reason the SABC would want to collapse the board would be to install an interim board that would be at its beck and call. Its concern is not the staff of the SABC, it is its own electoral prospects.

On the other hand, as the DA, while we understand that the SABC’s staff is bloated, we are against retrenchments that are not based on an independently conducted skills and salary audit, otherwise SABC staff may lose their jobs unjustly. We await the SABC’s presentation in January and trust that it will present this information and not give the ANC reason to dissolve the board in terms of s15A of the Broadcasting Act, which states that Parliament can dissolve the SABC board for the inability to perform its duties “efficiently”.

It is highly unfortunate that at a time when the SABC should be focused on steering its ship to calm waters, political interference is once again causing chaos at the SABC. We also await the SIU’s final report on the awarding of the security tender, and if wrongdoing by the members of the interim board is found, they must be held accountable.

BOKAMOSO | Time for some “Ramarealism”

This newsletter is the third in a four-part series that seeks to debunk the well-meaning but dangerous idea that Ramaphosa is the “knight in shining armour” come to save SA.

In the first newsletter, I debunked the idea that Ramaphosa needs a “bigger mandate” from the public. In the second, I poked holes in the notion that a strong ANC will protect us from the EFF. In this third newsletter I seek to explain why confidence in Ramaphosa is based on hope rather than evidence, and that “Ramarealism” will serve us better than “Ramaphoria”. In the fourth, I will set out why the DA is the party to vote for in 2019.

After 25 years of ANC hegemony, South Africa finds itself on a distinctly negative trajectory. Every single metric of social wellbeing is moving in the wrong direction: unemployment, poverty and inequality are going up, as are crime rates, the cost of living, and the chances of load-shedding. Desperate for hope, many people are looking to a single individual, Cyril Ramaphosa, to fix South Africa.

Ultimately, job-creating economic growth is the only show in town. Nothing else will solve South Africa’s problems. Yet it is extremely unlikely that Ramaphosa will get our economy growing and creating jobs.

Why? Because Ramaphosa is fundamentally an ANC man.

Firstly, he is committed to the ANC’s failed ideology of state-led development. This is evident in his determination to keep pouring billions of taxpayer rands into the bottomless pit that is SAA.

And it is evident in the legislation going through Parliament under Ramaphosa’s watch: expropriation without compensation, the one-size-fits-all national minimum wage, the Competition Amendment Bill, the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill, the National Health Insurance Bill.

This legislation does not solve the core problems at the heart of all service delivery failure in South Africa, it makes them worse.

Secondly, Ramaphosa is deeply embedded in and committed to the ANC’s cosy relationship with big labour and big business that underpins our insider/outsider economy – in which those with jobs are protected and the 9.8 million without jobs stand very little chance of finding one. He fully endorses the ANC system that enriches a connected elite at the expense of the excluded poor. Indeed, his estimated net worth of R6.4 billion – including 31 properties – depended on it.

Thus the most decisive outcome of his jobs summit was the moratorium on public sector retrenchments.

Unions are the ANC’s core support base, so the deep reforms required for the economy to grow – privatising SOEs, cutting the public wage bill, liberalising labour legislation, fixing basic education – will remain strictly off limits and investors will continue to go elsewhere.

“But at least we’ll have stability” is the standard Ramaphorian reply to this argument. Really? Our disillusioned young army of 9.8 million jobless will soon grow to 10 million and more. Stability is not going to be a word in our lexicon until we break free from the ANC’s insider/outsider paradigm that sustains this abnormally high unemployment rate.

The DA has a plan to do just that. It centres on freeing our economy and leveling the playing field for new entrants, be they entrepreneurs, young people, or the unemployed. We will grow small business opportunities by removing blockage and red-tape, including exempting them from restrictive labour legislation.

We will do what Ramaphosa cannot and will not: privatise SOE’s, cut the public sector wage bill and appoint on merit. This will free up resources to invest in the infrastructure required to enable economic growth and it will create the conditions for a far more inclusive economy.

Ramaphosa knows these are the reforms to fix South Africa. But he will never go that route because his focus is on fixing the ANC. The big Ramaphoria hope is that he will do this by tackling the corruption that infects the ANC and its governments. Yet the evidence is that even in this endeavor, he will fail.

Despite much lip service, there has still not been a single arrest of any person involved in the capture and looting of Eskom and Transnet, or their handlers inside the ANC. The NPA are letting the Guptas get away with the Estina Dairy scandal. And Ramaphosa is still making the public pay for Zuma’s defence costs, despite it being within his power to cancel this irrational deal now.

Ramaphosa’s track record in fighting corruption is abysmal. He was not only Deputy President and Head of Government Business from 2014-2017, but also headed the ANC’s deployment committee during the worst years of state capture, from 2012 to 2017.

He oversaw the appointments of Brian Molefe, Matshela Koko and Ben Ngubane to steer Eskom, amongst others. So either he played a key role in state capture, or else he is extraordinarily incompetent. Neither fits in with the “corruption-buster” theory. (And his excuse that he “didn’t know how bad it was” makes him either dishonest or incompetent.) But optimists argue he was just biding his time and playing the “long game”.

Then there is the matter of a R500 000 payment by Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson into a fund for Ramaphosa’s election campaign, and the fishy business relationship between Bosasa and Ramaphosa’s son, Andile.

The evidence tells us that this election is not about how best to save the ANC. It is about how best to save South Africa from the ANC. That’s why voters should resist the lure of Ramaphoria, and support the only party building one South Africa for all – the DA.

DA lays criminal charges against EFF

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Limpopo has today added additional criminal charges against the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) under case number 29/12/18 at the Polokwane police station.

DA Limpopo Premier Candidate Jacques Smalle addressing the media outside the Polokwane police station.

Please find attached an Afrikaans and English soundbite by Jacques Smalle.

The DA added charges of malicious damage to property to the EFF hooligans that vandalised a Vodacom store at Mall of the North yesterday, causing damage estimated at R500 000.

We also added accessory to a crime charges for the owner of the vehicle used in this violent attack.

This violent attack on the store comes in protest to an image of Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu captioned “abusers of democracy” by a keynote speaker at the Vodacom journalist of the year awards.

  

Pictures of the EFF arriving at the mall that were captured by security cameras.

This deplorable act is another example of EFF tactics to resort to violence when they do not get their way, in this case it led to the damage of property and could have led to the injury of innocent bystanders or unassuming shoppers.

The EFF have continuously proven to be violent and destructive constitutional delinquents that have abused the right to freedom of expression as set out in section 16 of the constitution.

This recent attack on Vodacom for a view expressed by a keynote speaker and not the company itself is an attack on our democratic rights and is meant to intimidate anyone who dares stand up to the bullying of the EFF.

Despite the South African Police Service (SAPS) having the car used to transport the hooligans in custody and the details of the car owner, no arrests have been made. We demand that arrests be made in this case.

The DA believes in a constitutional democracy where everyone has the right to express themselves without the threat of victimisation and there is space for the disagreement of opinions.

The DA will continue to monitor any developments around this case to ensure the culprits are held accountable.

Only the DA is actively working to unite South Africans by building One South Africa for All.

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Give South Africa its power back by implementing the DA’s plan, Minister Gordhan

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will write to Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, requesting an urgent meeting on the electricity crisis in South Africa.

It is now time for the ANC government and Minister Gordhan to put politics aside and seriously consider the DA’s plan to ensure the country no longer has to endure the crippling effects of power blackouts.

The ANC government’s legacy of State Capture at Eskom has essentially cut our power and the time has come to cut Eskom’s monopoly over our power and ultimately the ANC’s power in next year’s elections.

The shortage of coal at several power stations, and the resultant effect of power blackouts, proves that Eskom’s monopoly on power production and supply needs to be broken up.

The Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO) Bill introduced by the DA seeks to achieve exactly this and save citizens money by ensuring that they have more options with regards to purchasing electricity.

Our ISMO Bill proposes that Eskom is divided into two entities: one to generate power and the other dedicated to power transmission. The power-generating division will compete with its independent counterparts on an equal footing, ensuring efficiency, stability and competitive prices.

Gordhan must now act in the best interest of South Africans and tackle the electricity crisis head-on. That the power utility is looking to spend R1 billion in the interim is an indictment on Eskom’s leadership. A long-term solution is desperately needed. The DA has a plan to ensure that we turn around Eskom in order to deal- decisively and permanently- with the entity’s problems.

The DA will also write to the Chairperson of the Eskom Board, Jabu Mabuza, asking him to submit supplementary affidavits to the DA’s charges against those who have been implicated in the coal catastrophe our country is currently facing.

The public can no longer be made to pay for the ANC’s failures. Minister Gordhan must now prove that he is committed to ending the crisis at Eskom and prioritising South Africans by meeting with the DA to discuss the ISMO Bill.

The Minister can’t tell the SABC what to do

Please find attached a soundbite in English by DA Shadow Minister of Communications, Phumzile Van Damme MP

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is in possession of a letter to the SABC board Chairperson, Bongumusa Makhathini, by the new Communications Minister, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, and its contents are cause for serious concern.

At first instance, while the Communications Minister does indeed have an oversight role over the SABC, she does not, however, have the power to give instructions to the board. The fact that she has decided to “desist from all engagements with the SABC board” because it refused to take her instruction to halt retrenchments is puerile and in violation of the SABC’s independence.

Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams must continue discharge of her oversight role as shareholder and cannot decide not to do so because the board will not take her instructions and “…is no longer acting in the interests of the company, shareholder, and Parliament…” as stated in her letter. If she is not up to the task, she is welcome to resign.

The current SABC board has done well to enforce its independence and stand up to political interference by former communications ministers and it is evident it is doing the same with the current one.

That being said, the SABC board reports to and is accountable to Parliament and has not covered itself in glory regarding its proposed plan to retrench 2200 staff.

The DA has consistently said that the board must conduct an independent skills and salary audit before considering retrenchments, a view that was shared by the rest of the Communications Portfolio Committee when the board appeared before it last week. The committee also requested that the board present a clear strategic plan that will see the board self-sustain by cutting costs and exploring new revenue streams and funding models. The board has thus far done neither.

The SABC has until January to present both the results of an independent skills and salary audit, as well as a clear strategic plan to Parliament or face the risk of being axed. In terms of Section 15A of the Broadcasting Act, Parliament can dissolve the SABC board for the inability to perform its duties “efficiently.”

The DA is not blind to the politics at play. The SABC board has been adamant about enforcing its independence and this is not a situation Luthuli House would be happy with going into an election.

It has in the past had the SABC under its control and made sure that the public broadcaster was its mouthpiece and portrayed the ANC in a positive light to the electorate. The dissolving of the current board would allow for Parliament to appoint an interim board which could quite likely be filled with ANC-friendly individuals who would be at Luthuli House’s beck and call.

The ball is ultimately in the SABC board’s court. It must in January not give the Communications Committee reason to dissolve it, by presenting the results of an independent skills and salary audit and a clear strategic plan.

The DA is serious about rebuilding the SABC, protecting its independence after years of financial mismanagement, corruption and political interference by the ANC. We are also serious about protecting SABC staff against unjust retrenchment, we will not allow SABC staff to lose their jobs without just cause. We wait for the SABC board and management to redeem itself, and we hope it will do so.

DA observes 30th World AIDS Day

As the world observes the 30th annual World AIDS Day, the Democratic Alliance (DA) would like to call on all South Africans to take a moment to remember all of the countless South Africans who have sadly lost their lives in the fight against this epidemic.

To all those living with HIV/AIDS, we commend your courage and bravery and trust that you will continue to fight for your good health and the rights of those living with HIV/AIDS.

An estimated 7.5 million South Africans live with HIV. Of this group, 19% are people aged 15 to 49.

Despite having the largest antiretroviral treatment programme in the world, HIV/AIDS continue to have a devastating impact on South Africa’s youth.

Young people are the lifeblood and future of this country and we should do much more in ensuring that our future is healthy and vibrant.

This statistic paints a grim picture of how little we have accomplished in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Organisations such as the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), which is chaired by Deputy President DD Mabuza, play a vital role in addressing the progress of HIV/AIDS alleviation in South Africa.

As a society, we also have a collective responsibility to fight for better HIV awareness and treatment in our country. We need to build a South Africa where HIV/AIDS is not a death sentence or a shame.

On this World AIDS Day, the DA commits itself to build One South Africa for All, where those living with HIV/AIDS have access to dignified medical treatment and live free and full lives.

DA lays criminal charges against Tshwane’s Architect of Corruption

It is common cause that Tshwane’s City Manager, Dr Moeketsi Mosola, stands as an enemy of the people, service delivery and the fight against corruption. It is for this reason that I have today laid charges against Dr Mosola, Tshwane’s Architect of Corruption.

Dr Mosola is accused of interfering in the awarding of irregular tenders, most prominent of them, being the R12 billion GladAfrica contract, which has been investigated by the Auditor-General, Bowmans and the City Council. It therefore stands that there is strong evidence that he allegedly undermined the Municipal Finance Management Act. If found guilty of this charge, Dr Mosola faces up to five years in prison or an appropriate fine.

Dr Mosola also stands accused of using the City’s resources to defame the Executive Mayor, Solly Msimanga, and the Administration, which has worked to rebuild the City and to free people oppressed by poverty, by speeding up the delivery of services, stopping corruption and creating access to real, long-term jobs. Therefore, a charge of crimen injuria was laid against him. A guilty judgement for crimen injuria may result in a first offender being sentenced to a fine and a suspended sentence for a period on condition that the offender does not re-offend.

Dr Mosola is aided and abetted by a coalition of corruption – the ANC and EFF – who have frustrated Council’s obligation to place the Architect of Corruption on precautionary suspension, so a full-scale investigation can take place without interference or intimidation. Which begs the question – why are the ANC and EFF who claim to represent the poor, protecting someone accused of stealing from the poor and blocking all efforts to speed up the delivery of services.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will not tolerate even a whisper of corruption, and we will leave no stone unturned in the fight against corruption. Corruption steals from our people, especially our people who depend on the government for the most basic of services, like water, housing and electricity.

We will not allow the people of Tshwane to be held ransom by the Architect and Coalition of Corruption.

The people must always come first in our work of building One South Africa for All. Anyone who stands against this agenda, is an enemy of the people and progress.

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