Zuma must finally get his day in court

The DA welcomes President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to abandon the futile appeal, launched by his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, against the North Gauteng High Court decision which found that the appointment of Adv. Shaun Abrahams was invalid.
We can only hope that this will result in the immediate removal of the discredited National Director of Public Prosecution (NDPP) and Zuma’s keeper, Adv. Abrahams.
Ramaphosa must now move swiftly in appointing a credible, untainted person to head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
On 18 February, the DA called on President Ramaphosa to restore public confidence in the NPA and lend integrity to the process to charge Zuma by abandoning his predecessor’s appeal against the North Gauteng High Court decision. We also called on him to involve a parliamentary committee in the appointment of a new, impartial NDPP.
The time has arrived for the NPA to reinstate the 783 counts of corruption, fraud, racketeering and money-laundering against Zuma, and the new head of the NPA must make this their first priority.

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

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

DA requests SIU investigation into sale of Strategic Fuel Stocks

The DA has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa, requesting that he proclaim an urgent Special Investigation Unit (SIU) investigation into the illegal sale of South Africa’s strategic fuel stocks at below-market prices.
It is estimated that it would cost South Africa R5.6 billion, at the current exchange rate, to replace the 10.3 million oil barrels which have already been sold.
Minister of Energy, David Mahlobo, told the Energy Portfolio Committee this week that an investigation initiated by the Department into the sale had been halted due to what he called a “shoddy” report he had received on the matter.
We do not believe it is appropriate for a minister to institute an inquiry and then have the power to accept or reject the report that follows from it. For all we know, Minister Mahlobo has rejected the report because it implicates high-ranking politicians and political allies in wrongdoing.
Indeed, the law firm that conducted the inquiry on behalf of the Department of Energy – Allen & Overy – have stated publicly that they stand by their report.
We also know – through a leaked copy of the report published in the media last year – that it found the sale to be irregular as it was concluded without concurrence from Treasury, the Board of the Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF) and the Central Energy Fund (CEF).
Significantly, the report also found that SFF executives had liaised directly with former Energy Minister, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, instead of going through its own board.
It is therefore deeply suspicious that Joemat-Pettersson told Parliament in 2016 that the offloading of oil reserves was simply a rotation of stock and not a sale. She was later contradicted by her successor, Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, who confirmed that the stocks were in fact sold.
There is something rotten at the heart of the sale of our strategic oil reserves. It would be a profound lapse in public accountability if we allow the investigation into it to live or die according to the whims of Minister Mahlobo.
Instead, we need an independent body to fully investigate the sale.  The SIU is well-placed to this in line with its mandate to investigate serious malpractice relating to state institutions, state assets and public money.
President Ramaphosa has made some big noises about fighting corruption, and we, therefore, call on him to initiate an independent SIU investigation without delay.

Public Protector finds Lynne Brown guilty of misleading Parliament

Following a complaint by the DA, the Public Protector has found Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown guilty of misleading Parliament, when she failed to disclose if there had been any contracts of engagement between Eskom and Gupta-linked, Trillian.
The report has now given President Cyril Ramaphosa 14 days to take action against the Minister after it found that Brown had violated the Executive Ethics Code.
Minister Brown, in response to a DA parliamentary question, denied that there had been an agreement between Eskom and Trillian. However, AmaBhungane, later established that either Trillian or a subsidiary company had, at the time of the reply, already invoiced Eskom for R266 million.
The complaint has now found Minister Brown guilty of misleading Parliament and contravening the Executive Ethics Code.
The DA urges President Cyril Ramaphosa to act swiftly against the Minister and immediately fire her from his Cabinet.
If the President is truly committed to building a government that is beyond reproach, he must immediately remove anyone who is found guilty of unethical behaviour from his Cabinet.
Minister Brown has acted for far too long with utter impunity. It was under her watch that Eskom and our other parastatals were virtually financially ruined and ethically ruined. Her time has finally come to face the music.
The Public Protector’s finding is a victory for all those who have fought bravely against State Capture.

Engcobo attack shows that crime is out of control

This statement follows an oversight visit to Engcobo Police Station by DA Shadow Minister of Police, Zakhele Mbhele MP and DA Leader in the Provincial Legislature, Bobby Stevenson MPL. Please find soundbites in English and IsiZulu by Mr Mbhele.
Today’s visit to the Engcobo SAPS with the DA Leader in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature, Bobby Stevenson, highlighted the fact our communities are not safe.
When a police station, which should stand as a bright light against the dark act of crime, is subjected to the horror of theft and murder, then this brings us to question our own safety as ordinary citizens and the ability of the SAPS to fight crime.
Following this heinous attack on our women and men in blue, Police Minister Fikile Mbalula needs to roll out a plan and strategy that tangibly and effectively keeps us safe in our homes and on the streets. The reality is that crime cannot be tweeted away. How many more people must die before we see real action from the Minister?
Today, we also met with the Eastern Cape Provincial Police Commissioner, General LE Ntshinga, to discuss what actions have and should be taken to ensure that the Engcobo police station’s infrastructure is secure.
It appears that stealing firearms was at least part of the motive for this brazen attack. It is deeply concerning that the police station was attacked at the same time as patrol vehicles, in what may have been a co-ordinated attack to paralyse the ability of the SAPS to respond to an ATM attack that was underway at the same time but was ultimately unsuccessful.
This disturbing attack highlights that our SAPS members need to be adequately resourced, equipped and trained so that they are ready for any possible eventuality.
The DA calls on the Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula to prioritise making sure that police stations across the country have the resources they need to protect themselves and the people of South Africa against criminals. This follows the deadly attack on Engcobo Police station in which 6 SAPS members were murdered.
Our thoughts are with the families of the victims and we extend our sympathy and encouragement to the surviving SAPS members who have been traumatised.
SAPS members put their lives on the line every day and it is only fair that they have what they need to protect themselves and ultimately the people they are meant to protect.
It is clear that the Minister is neglecting his duty to fully capacitate and professionalise the police service. This results in the lack of resources at police stations and therefore, the SAPS’s inability to bring down the unacceptably high rate of crime in our country.
The fact of the matter is that the police’s efforts to ensure safer communities will be reduced to a mere exercise in futility if the police themselves are not fully-equipped to take on hardened criminals.
It is an indictment on Minister Mbalula and the entire SAPS leadership that the men and women tasked with the safety of our people, lack the necessary resources to do their jobs.
The DA welcomes that a team of detectives has been assigned the case and the Minister must provide regular updates on the progress made in the investigation. We also appeal to the public come forward with any information which can help track down the perpetrators of this crime.
 

[INFOGRAPHIC] DA-led Western Cape continues to deliver

Today marked the 11th DA-led Western Cape State of the Province Address, with the Province now in its 9th year of DA governance.
From zero clean audits before we took office in 2009, many of departments are now on their way to double figures in the number of consecutive unqualified audits. This year, 11 out of 11 provincial public entities received clean audits.
Below are some key delivery facts, and upcoming projects that Western Cape residents can look forward to. Let’s keep making progress in the Western Cape!

Read the full Western Cape State of the Province Address.

Treasury confirms it has not done a full costing on free Higher Education plan

Treasury officials admitted yesterday that they have not done a full costing of former President, Jacob Zuma’s, promises on fee-free Higher Education.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) officials said in January that all the answers on the new policy would be provided in the yesterday’s budget.
While the allocation of R57 billion was announced, no clarity was given on where this money would go. The budget therefore only caused more confusion and uncertainty.
The fact is NSFAS and universities cannot confirm how many students would need to be funded this year as application and registration processes are still underway.
The current proposal cannot simply be estimated on last year’s figures, as many qualifying students wouldn’t have applied for this academic year due to the last minute surprise announcement by Zuma.
The Minister of Finance, Malusi Gigaba, has made a desperate attempt to pacify concerned students, parents and institutions by throwing a large cheque at the problem without knowing how much is actually required.
Minister Gigaba even admitted as much by saying “The announcement on fee-free education was unexpected, and we preferred an announcement that was mindful to the sensitivity of the budget planning process. Fee-free is free on the student, but not free for government and the people of SA”.
President Cyril Ramaphosa must urgently address the feasibility of this model, provide clarity on exactly how much funding is required and how his government intends to provide it. Without this clarity, he is playing fast and loose with the future of millions of young people.

Nuclear Deal: Ramaphosa must stop the gazetting of the Integrated Resource Plan

Minister Gigaba’s Budget Speech, which contained no funding for a new nuclear build, should signal the death knell of the nuclear deal.
The time has come for Minister Mahlobo to accept that his attempt to deliver the nuclear deal has failed. With Zuma gone, he has outlasted his usefulness and should be removed from Cabinet without delay.
The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), that was apparently approved by the Zuma Cabinet in December, left the door open for a new nuclear build. This was despite every credible study rejecting new investment in nuclear as part of the IRP and recommending investment in renewables and gas instead.
We call on President Ramaphosa to put a stop to the gazetting of Mahlobo’s IRP. Instead, Minister Mahlobo should be removed from office and a new Minister appointed to ensure that the new IRP is based on the latest cutting-edge modelling and research.
In an ideal world, the Department of Energy should:

  1. Appoint an independent entity to do the technical modelling work, such as the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR);
  2. Let that entity determine the latest least cost electricity mix up to 2050 and make that the base case;
  3. Let that entity calculate the cost implications of certain policy decisions that might deviate from the base case;
  4. In parallel, have the findings and the model independently reviewed by an additional expert party;
  5. Hold a proper and meaningful public consultation on the basis of the aforementioned costed base case and the costed deviations from the base case;
  6. Centred on that, decide on policy adjustments (if any) and publish the final IRP.

Given that a large amount of work has already been completed by the department, CSIR and Eskom on these points, we would suggest that Eskom and the CSIR provide its technical work and least-cost scenarios to the department that would then compile a condensed version of the IRP. This condensed least-cost IRP would then be provided to the public and energy committee for comment and once that has been completed, a final version can be sent to the Cabinet for approval. We cannot afford to waste time as the energy sector requires clarity and direction on energy policy as soon as humanly possible.
We need an IRP that favours clean, reliable energy at the lowest cost. We don’t need a nuclear deal and, as Minister Gigaba has made clear, we cannot afford it. So let’s shut the door on this corrupt nuclear deal once and for all.

DA governments to pull out of SALGA if political bias continues

The DA has written to the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) expressing its deep concerns with the organisation’s possible political bias towards ANC governed municipalities. SALGA has a mandate to represent the interests of local governments, however, it faces allegations of political bias and possible wasteful expenditure.
The DA’s concerns centre around SALGA pushing a political agenda, aligned to the ANC, that its leadership consists predominantly of the individuals from the ruling party and allegations that opposition councillors are often excluded from SALGA training and initiatives.
The DA has now given SALGA until 30 April 2018 to address our concerns about their politically-skewed priorities. Should the organisation fail to meet our deadline, DA-led municipalities will not be paying membership fees for the 2018/2019 financial year and will subsequently withdraw their membership altogether.
DA-led municipalities account for approximately 20% of SALGA’s income stream and DA members constitute four seats on the SALGA NEC.
Some of the DA’s other concerns, apart from the allegations of the politicisation of SALGA, include:

  • The seeming irregular and extensive international travel of SALGA NEC members and senior management for ‘international relations’ purposes;
  • The personnel costs at the organisation amount to 55% of the organization’s total expenditure, with the administration costs of a further 7.5 %. In contrast, programme costs are at a lowly 20% of the total costs. (according to 16/17 annual report); and
  • SALGA expects municipalities to carry the costs for priorities which are not within the mandate of the organisation.

It is evident that something is seriously wrong at SALGA – and it is for this reason that the DA is prepared to ensure that all DA-led municipalities pull out of SALGA should the organisation fail to fix these concerns as a matter of urgency.
It is unacceptable that SALGA should abuse its position to either include or exclude certain municipalities or political parties.
The DA will ensure that SALGA restores unbiased practices within the organization, to guarantee that every South African citizen has access to efficient local governments, irrespective of political affiliation.

#Budget2018: The poor are made to pay for ANC’s theft

The Minister of Finance, Malusi Gigaba’s, 2018 Budget hammers the poor and is a legacy of Jacob Zuma’s disastrous management of the economy of South Africa.
The increase in taxes revealed today is symptomatic of an ANC government which has failed to plan ahead and make the necessary cost-cutting measures to shield ordinary citizens from poverty.
The announcements made today are nothing less than a massive body blow to poor South Africans. They will dampen economic growth and fail to create much-needed jobs.
https://twitter.com/MmusiMaimane/status/966332379940999169
The VAT increase of 1 percentage point is a smack in the face for the millions of South Africans who face a daily battle to put food on the table. This increase, combined with the new fuel levy increase, will force poor South Africans to pay more for basic goods, services, and transport.
Instead of taking decisive action to cut wasteful expenditure and trim the fat, the Minister has introduced proposals for cost-cutting that will only reduce service delivery. Specifically:

  • Provincial Equitable Share, the proportion of the budget allocated to provinces, will be reduced by R 4.7 billion;
  • Provincial conditional grants, mainly Human Settlements and Education infrastructure, will be reduced by R 13.7 billion;
  • Local Government grants will be reduced by R 16.1 billion
    • conditional grants, which includes money for building schools, will be cut by R 13.9 billion;
    • indirect grants by R 2.2 billion; and
  • The police services will be reduced by 2 000 personnel.

https://twitter.com/Our_DA/status/966337105835249664
The choice to cut funding for building schools and employing police officers will only put the futures and safety of our people at risk and is a terrible tradeoff.
The allocation of R57 billion over the medium term to fund poor students in higher education may seem like a step in the right direction. However, it is not sustainable and fails to address the true nature of the problem and the decades of chronic underfunding of this sector.
Instead of stabilising the national debt levels, they will continue to rise to R 3.3 trillion over the next three years and debt service costs will amount to R 592 billion over the medium term.
The once-off provisional allocation of R6 billion to drought relief is symptomatic of the short-term planning by National Government which lead to the current water crisis in the first place.
Yesterday the DA set out how Minister Gigaba, through robust expenditure cuts, a comprehensive expenditure review and the sale of assets such as parts of Eskom, could save R112 billion and avoid tax increases.
All in all, the Minister has failed to cut the fat and has opted instead to protect the few and reach into the pockets of poor South Africans to cover the cost.