Parties urge the DA to rethink approach and do the right thing

24 April 2023

Parties formerly in coalition with the DA in Joburg have noted communication received from DA Federal Leader John Steenhuisen which effectively removes the DA from participating in any coalition that could replace the ANC and EFF in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

Over the weekend political parties received letters from Steenhuisen in which the DA communicated that they would not form part of a coalition that involves the PA in Johannesburg in the near future.

This follows a meeting held on 19 April with leadership of the DA, ActionSA, PA, IFP, VF Plus and ACDP to discuss the support for Motions of No Confidence to remove Mayor Thapelo Amad, and to replace his ANC and EFF government with multi-party coalition including the parties that elected Mayor Mpho Phalatse in November 2021.

It now awaits to be seen whether the DA will support the Motions of No Confidence on Tuesday to remove the disastrous Mayor Amad, and the Speaker and Chief Whip in Johannesburg. It is noteworthy that the DA’s own caucus in Johannesburg have filed their own Motions of No Confidence in these same individuals.

ActionSA the IFP and the ACDP jointly call upon the DA to rethink its approach and to do the right thing by the residents of Johannesburg and all South Africans who seek a viable alternative to the ANC and EFF in 2024. It is clear that the ANC and EFF are forcing compromise Mayors, like Amad, upon Joburg residents. Amad has proven to be entirely incapable of governing the City, and has no coherent vision. If the DA is indeed committed to good governance, it should work to remove Amad and elect a Mayor that is capable of leading a city with complex challenges like Johannesburg.

In recent DA announcements of the so-called ‘moonshot pact’ the DA have gone to great lengths to characterise a possible ANC and EFF coalition as a ‘doomsday’ scenario in 2024 that requires other parties to come together to prevent this from happening. Joburg residents do not live with such a theoretical concern because a very real ANC and EFF ‘doomsday’ coalition exists that is taking Joburg backwards.

The DA’s refusal to work with the PA is effectively sending the message that a coalition that includes the PA is worse than the ‘doomsday’ scenario. The work of keeping the ANC and EFF out in 2024, and removing them next week in Joburg, cannot be exclusive or elitist and it requires link-minded political parties to put aside their differences to fix South Africa.

It is worth noting that the DA’s refusal to form a coalition with the PA has resulted in the multi-party coalition in Tshwane continuing without a majority following the resignation of a DA ward councillor. This vacancy resulted in the failure to pass the Adjustments Budget, and the failure to bring the PA onboard may prevent the passing of the 2023/24 Tshwane budget in May.

The credibility of the moonshot pact will be damaged if within a mere two weeks of its announcement the DA passes on the first opportunity to remove an ANC and EFF coalition. An opportunity exists to take back the economic hub of our country and our parties believe this is an opportunity that cannot be missed. The same applies to securing the coalition in the capital city.

Our parties are mindful of the need to build consensus around a multi-party coalition to unseat the ANC and EFF in 2024 and it is in this spirit that we do not berate the DA. We rather urge them to return to the table and reconsider the dire implications of their position. The removal of this ANC and EFF puppet government is no longer a Johannesburg project but rather one with national consequence to the future of our country. Now is the time to back up stated intentions of co-operation that benefits all South Africans with real actions.

As Steenhuisen said himself when urging parties to join the moonshot pact, “unclench your fists so that we can take hands and work together.” As partners in coalition must sometimes do, we urge the DA to heed their own advice and to raise those same unclenched hands to remove this ANC and EFF government in Joburg on Tuesday.

Issued by on behalf of ActionSA, IFP & ACDP, 24 April 2023