“Road to 2019” starts today

01 October 2016

Note to Editors: The following statement was delivered today by DA Leader, Mmusi Maimane, at a press briefing following a two-day sitting of the Party’s Federal Executive (FedEx) in Cape Town. The Leader was joined by the Chairperson of the Federal Executive, James Selfe, and National Spokesperson, Refiloe Nt’sekhe.

Over the past two days, the Federal Executive (FedEx) of the Democratic Alliance (DA) convened here in Cape Town to attend to a number of pressing matters concerning the country and the Party. This press briefing serves to communicate the outcomes of this weekend’s FedEx meeting.

“Road to 2019”

Just 60 days ago, millions of South Africans took charge of their destiny and their future, and voted for change. In the most significant election since 1994, the 2016 Local Government Elections represented a seismic shift in the South African political landscape. 

The DA achieved substantial growth, receiving over 4 million votes and forming governments in 14 new municipalities, including 3 new metros. This election also ushered in an era of coalition politics, as multiparty coalitions to unseat the ANC were formed in councils across the country.

It truly was a watershed moment in South Africa’s democratic era. While before it was unthinkable that the ANC could be removed from national government as early as 2019, it is now conceivable. 

The DA knows that our work did not end on 4 August 2016; in fact it has only just begun. This weekend our FedEx discussed our “Road to 2019” campaign – a permanent campaign beginning now and running for the next roughly 1000 days up to the 2019 national election. 

The truth is that South Africa cannot afford to have the ANC govern until 2024. The crisis at the highest level of our government over the last 60 days has shown that the ANC will not reform, and its internal war will only worsen. From the war inside the Cabinet, the abuse of the Hawks to pursue Minister Gordhan, the failure of leadership in higher education, the reappointment of Dudu Myeni, secrecy in nuclear deals, the lease of a new VIP jet - all of this, and more, in just two months. Every day that the ANC remains in government more institutional damage is done, more corruption goes unchecked, and more the economy falters and unemployment grows. 

2019 will be a make or break election for South Africa. We must therefore aim to continue to grow our support and build a majority of South Africans that share our values and our vision, so that we can help bring the ANC below 50% nationally in 2019. 

Our “Road to 2019” campaign consists of a long term, comprehensive plan of action to achieve our goal of being part of a national government in 2019. 

FedEx has noted that in order to achieve our 2019 objectives, we need to accelerate our efforts to become an activist driven party. This will require a deliberate programme to strengthen branches and activists, so that our party is in permanent campaign mode in every community between now and 2019. 

The FedEx has sent the message to all of our provincial and regional structures that Election 2019 has already begun. We have less than 1000 days to go, and over the course of the next 2 and a half years, we will ramp up on the ground presence several fold. 

FedEx also resolved that a “country recovery plan” be developed for South Africa, which will act as a blueprint for governance in 2019. The party will also undergo a comprehensive policy review and update to ensure that our policies reflect the latest in global evidence-based best practice. Our policy will remain focused on kickstarting economic growth to create jobs, rooting out corruption, and expanding opportunities for the poor and unemployed. Should a new government be formed post-election 2019, we need to be able to hit the ground running with a clear, sensible plan that delivers the right outcomes. 

FedEx also considered the overall diversification of the party, a primary strategic objective for the DA ahead of 2019. It is vitally important to give effect to the objectives and commitments set out in the race speech I delivered earlier this year. 

In the coming months, the party will finalise a diversity plan that will require DA structures – from branch level to national level - to set targets for the recruitment and development of excellent black candidates for public office. These targets, and the progress made towards achieving them, will be reviewed regularly by FedEx.

DA governments

The most important element of the “Road to 2019” is ensuring that every DA-run government is well-run, people orientated, and successfully delivers for the citizens of South Africa. Every resident in a DA-run municipality must know, see and feel the DA difference. 

Since taking over these new councils, the DA has uncovered a truly staggering display of waste and corruption. It is clear that most ANC councils were being used as bloated employment agencies for ANC cronies, wasting money meant for service delivery for the poor. In the coming weeks, we will set out in detail some of what we have found, and how we are dealing with it. 

Many of the new councils we lead are in dire financial situations. It will be complex and difficult to turn these councils around and sweep away years of ANC neglect and corruption. But we are excited for the challenge, and will take it on with zeal. 

We regard it as a profound privilege to be able to govern the municipalities where we have won, and we take this responsibility very seriously. This is an opportunity for the DA to demonstrate what positive change can happen when voters choose differently. If we govern well where we have won, we can provide powerful reasons for citizens to vote for the DA in 2019. 

Our governance footprint is substantial. The DA is currently in government in 37 municipalities – including 4 metros - in 6 out of 9 provinces. We have never been in such an opportune position to govern honestly, govern well, and prove to the people of South Africa that come 2019, the DA is the party to move South Africa forward again.

The instruction from the FedEx to all DA-led governments is clear: govern with honesty and humility, so that all can see the difference a DA government makes to people’s lives, especially the lives of the poor. 

I am pleased that FedEx has officially adopted a resolution which seeks to ensure that every DA-controlled government is accountable to the Federal Executive for its performance, implementation of the Party’s manifesto and adherence to the Party’s values. 

This includes providing FedEx with regular and detailed reports on the state of the administration which must include the extent to which the manifesto of the Party is being implemented. 

The Mayors, Speakers, and Chief Whips of every DA-controlled government will attend meetings arranged by the Party to co-ordinate efforts and to exchange best practice. 

The Party has given a clear mandate to all our mayors to ensure our election mandate of cutting corruption, creating jobs and delivering better services is the blueprint for all our governments – and is the golden thread that runs through all municipal budgets and Integrated Development Plans (IDP).

With regards to SALGA, the Fedex considered the ongoing participation of DA-controlled governments in SALGA. The Fedex recognises the Constitutional role that SALGA plays, but equally that is failing in its mandate and not providing value for money. DA representatives will therefore move substantive motions that are aimed at ensuring that SALGA fulfils its mandate in a non-partisan and effective manner. The DA will not allow it to be abused by the ANC and for ratepayers’ money to be wasted on simply talk shops. 

Higher Education crisis

We are facing an unprecedented crisis in Higher Education, which if left unaddressed will fracture the future of all students as well as the prospects of the South Africa as a whole. This crisis therefore requires leadership from all sectors of society. It is not a just a higher education crisis but a national one.

The DA’s position has always been fair and progressive. Our position is that a student should not be excluded from building their future because their economic circumstances make a higher education qualification unaffordable. In this regard, government can and must do more. 

The right of those students who wish to continue learning and complete their academic year must be protected. Violence and the destruction of property must be condemned in the strongest terms, and must be prosecuted. However, as much as we call on protestors to act within the law, we call upon the SAPS and private security to act with restraint and the within the confines of the law as well. 

The shutting down of higher education campuses affects the poor the most. If this academic year is lost, it would impose significant additional burden on those students who are already struggling to cover their living expenses.

Later today I will meet with Dr Ahmed Bawa, CEO of Universities South Africa (formerly Higher Education South Africa) and Prof. Adam Habib, Chairperson of Universities South Africa, in order to address, among other things, the funding crisis that has shut down the country’s universities, as well as the conduct of some protesters, and the urgent need to complete this academic year. 

An invitation to this meeting has also been extended to this meeting to the leaders of the other opposition parties, with leaders from the EFF, UDM, IFP, ACDP, FF+ and AGANG confirming their attendance. 

SABC and Hlaudi Motsoeneng

What is happening at the SABC is a case study of Jacob Zuma’s project of state capture. A tangible example of what happens when institutions of state are captured by political appointees, for political purposes, at the expense of the public. 

In Hlaudi Motsoeneng, we have an individual who has been found by the Public Protector, the High Court, and the Supreme Court of Appeal to be dishonest, unfit for purpose and unlawfully appointed to the position of SABC COO. Yet in spite of this, Hlaudi Motsoeneng runs the SABC like his own personal fiefdom. And the Minister of Communications gives him her not of approval.

Moreover, under his watch, the SABC has suffered a net loss of R805 million over the past two years. The DA will not rest until Mr Motsoeneng is stripped of his position and we can start rebuilding a public broadcaster that honours the constitutional imperatives on which it is founded by operating in the public interest.

As the DA, we will not relent in our charge to have Hlaudi removed. Thus we will be holding a protest outside the SABC Headquarters in Auckland Park this coming Monday, and will hand over a memorandum to the SABC board calling for Hlaudi Motsoeneng to be axed once and for all. 

In light of Cabinet’s announcement this week calling for Hlaudi Motsoeneng to respect the court judgment against him and step down from his new position at the SABC, the board cannot put off this decision any longer.

Strategic Litigation

The DA, appreciating the importance of the Rule of Law, is engaged in several items of litigation. Most recently the DA is in the process of consulting it's legal counsel to determine whether or not the former SABC COO, Hlaudi Motsoeneng's recent appointment is irregular, unlawful and irrational. 

The DA mindful that it isn't ideal to approach the courts but when all alternative relief is met with unwillingness we are left with no choice but to approach our judiciary to stave off the rank state capture currently underway at the behest of Presudent Zuma.

This is evidenced by the Motsoeneng matter as well as the challenging of the re-appointment of SAA Board Chairperson, Dudu Myeni, and deputy NDPP, Nomgcobo Jiba, who both have a stranglehold on critical state agencies who ought to be free from political interference.  

Conclusion

This year’s Local Government Elections changed the country. We will grab this opportunity with both hands and will deliver change that takes our country forward again. 

We are no longer just an opposition party or a regional party. We are now a party for all South Africans across the country, with a national footprint, and this is not something we take lightly. For the country to succeed the DA needs to succeed. Where we govern we must deliver and where we do not govern we must present a strong opposition and credible alternative policies.

We have set goals and targets for the Road to 2019, and we will work tirelessly to achieve them.

Issued by the DA, 1 October 2016