Letters

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the decisive action taken by Minister Dean Macpherson and the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure, of blacklisting 40 non-performing contractors since June 2024. This is a huge achievement. It directly benefits South Africans by ensuring that taxpayer money is no longer wasted on failed or incomplete projects, …

Dear Prof. Fikeni I trust this letter reaches you well. I am writing to you in your capacity as the Commissioner of the South African Public Service and Administration following the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mr. Manamela’s appointment of Mr. Zukile Mvalo, Mr. Oupa Nkoane, and Mr. Lehlogonolo Masoga as Administrators for the …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) to urgently clarify South Africa’s position in the new Nusuk Hajj system and to work towards securing a higher pilgrim quota. The transition to the Nusuk platform, as announced by the Saudi Arabian Embassy, is a welcome development. It …

Dear Editor The DA has begun a process of assessing the remuneration terms and conditions of board members and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) across KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) 12 Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) entities. The move comes after a recent parliamentary reply (view here) to questions by the DA exposed that during the 2024/25 …

Dear Editor After failing on his promise to restore water in 7 days, Dada Morero’s presentation before the Portfolio Committee on Water & Sanitation unequivocally proves he is unfit to be Mayor. He does not have a ready plan for residents of Johannesburg, even while taps sit dry. The crisis in Joburg will worsen because …

Dear Editor The DA can reveal that a by way of a letter to his Department, seen by the DA, Minister Gayton Mackenzie is attempting to construct a propaganda campaign to justify cutting funding to iconic cultural festivals across the country. This is a shocking and sickening discovery. In a letter dated 17 September 2025, …

Dear Editor The DA notes with grave concern the arrest of five SANDF members, together with two Zimbabwean nationals, after an unauthorised midnight raid at the Sediba sa Tlou (Artonvilla) base near Musina, during which shots were allegedly fired and boxes of illicit cigarettes were seized and partly hidden on the base. The suspects face …

Dear Editor I am issuing this statement to categorically and in the strongest possible terms refute the outrageous, defamatory, and entirely baseless allegations made against me by the Provincial Police Commissioner of KZN, suggesting my involvement in a criminal syndicate and the leaking of sensitive information. On 17 February of this year, following extensive reporting …

Dear Editor South Africa’s small business sector, buckling under economic and regulatory pressure, needs its champion in the form of the Small Business Ombudsperson to be appointed without any further delays. The DA believes that this appointment is critical to unlock economic growth in the small business sector leading to significant job creation. We are …

Dear Editor The DA is determined to stop public money from being stolen/looted through ghost worker schemes. We will be launching parliamentary questions to all Ministers in government to verify compliance with National Treasury’s directive to eliminate ghost workers and meet the February 2026 deadline. It cannot be that the government’s purse is being purged …

Dear Editor Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille has lost the confidence of South Africa’s tourism sector. The Democratic Alliance (DA) asked her in Parliament today whether dissolving the SA Tourism (SAT) Board was still defensible, given the Tourism Business Council’s decision to withhold half a billion rand in TOMSA levies. De Lille’s response can only …

Dear Editor  For the past three weeks I have spoken to many Tshwane residents about their municipal bills following the implementation of a new municipal budget. This is part of the DA’s listening tour in Tshwane in preparation for the local government election. Our focus has been on investment and jobs, to better understand …

Dear Editor The National Assembly unanimously passed the motion without notice to protect the rights of Hajj pilgrims, tabled by the DA yesterday. We have called for urgent intervention in the South African Hajj and Umrah Council (SAHUC) controversy, condemning SAHUC’s attempts to monopolise hajj travel and highlighting serious allegations of misconduct. The motion calls …

Dear Editor The DA welcomes the strong statement by Dakota Legoete MP, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, calling for urgent action over the non-payment of allowances to SANDF members deployed to the DRC under Operation Thiba. The DA supports both Chairperson Legoete’s concern and the concern for the welfare of …

Dear Editor The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System, chaired by retired Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, begins its work today. This commission must pursue the truth without fear or favour. South Africans cannot afford another inquiry that tiptoes around political heavyweights or shields the well-connected. Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla …

Dear Editor While Minister of Higher Education and Training Buti Manamela touts a R13.3 billion reprioritisation to ‘stabilise NSFAS’, the public still hasn’t been told what programmes are being cut and how the R10.6 billion gap will be closed. Therefore, the Democratic Alliance (DA) will write to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) once again calls for Eskom to be fully unbundled, with the System and Market Operator made independent without delay. This step is essential if we are to save South Africa’s mining sector, which is being crippled by relentless electricity price increases. Since 2007, the cost of electricity has climbed …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) will today expose in Parliament the devastating failures of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture under Minister Gayton McKenzie. This department should be a place of opportunity where young people are developed, artists are supported, and communities are uplifted. Instead, it has been reduced to a vehicle for …