Letters

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) will not allow the ghost workers crisis and the unlawful selling of posts to keep robbing South Africans of education, services, and jobs. As Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Services, and DA Member of Parliament, I have requested strict oversight measures to hold government to account. In …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) believes Defence Minister Angie Motshekga’s conduct in shielding General Rudzani Maphwanya from accountability is so serious that it deserves for her to be fired. Her latest defence of Maphwanya’s misconduct in Tehran shows she is unfit for office and is causing irreparable harm to South Africa’s image. Instead of …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) is outraged by the unacceptable conditions uncovered during an unannounced oversight West Coast College, Vredendal campus. The residence, housing more than 400 students, many of whom are funded by NSFAS at an estimated R45 000 per student per year is nothing short of a disgrace. Students are crammed eight …

Dear Editor A DA-led oversight visit to three industrial parks in Soweto and Johannesburg revealed continued neglect by the ANC-led departments, province and metro. Negligence by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, Department of Small Business Development, Gauteng government and City of Johannesburg is slowly killing the businesses that operate there, rather than making …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance rejects Minister Manamela’s appointment of Oupa Nkoane, Lehlohonolo Masoga, and Zukile Mvalo as Construction SETA (CETA), Services SETA and Local Government SETA (LGSETA) “administrators”. These appointees are unfit- implicated in corruption, mismanagement, fraud in previous government jobs – or have proved themselves useless in the SETA space already. The DA …

Dear Editor The DA notes today’s visit to KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) by National Minister of Human Settlements, Thembi Simelane – which comes a shocking three years after the 2022 floods – to engage with flood victims, introduce a contractor and hand over housing units. While the DA welcomes these long-overdue interventions, the response by the national …

The following is an extract of a member statement delivered by Jóhni Steenkamp in the North West Provincial Legislature today: Hon. Speaker, For months now, the men and women who keep North West moving , the bus drivers, mechanics, and staff of NTI, have been left in despair. Salaries have gone unpaid, families have gone …

Dear Editor In an interview on Newzroom Afrika today, 18 August 2025, Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, disclosed that the University of Cape Town has asked the Department of Higher Education to investigate allegations of a young woman who was allegedly raped and then offered marks a degree in exchange for silence. …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes with concern the ongoing delays in finalising the terms of reference for Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee into the explosive allegations raised by KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Police Commissioner, Lt Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Every day lost to procedural wrangling is a day that the rot inside the South African Police Service …

Dear Editor Parents at Gobizizwe Agricultural School are still in shock after last week’s foodborne illness that saw scores of learners fall ill. Today, I was accompanied by DA Shadow MEC for Agriculture, Heinrich Müller MPL, DA OR Tambo Constituency Leader, Mlindi Nhanha MP, and DA Phesheya Kwenciba Constituency Leader, Fezeka Mbiko MP on an …

Dear Editor During an oversight visit to Qalakabusha Correctional Centre in Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, on 14 August 2025, the DA found that the prison’s bakery — built with the facility’s own labour and resources — remains idle despite assurances earlier this year that it would be operational. View images here, here, here and here. View video …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes the resignation of the Deputy Director General (DDG) for Real Estate Management Services in the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI). This follows the Minister’s decision to launch a wide-ranging investigation into state leases, during which allegations of mismanagement were raised that implicated the DDG. The DDG …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance will submit Parliamentary questions to Defence Minister Angie Motshekga, demanding a full breakdown of the costs, funds raised, and spending of the South African National Defence Force’s (SANDF) latest extravagant Golf Day. This follows mounting concerns over the defence force’s financial mismanagement and systemic failures. The SANDF’s choice to host …

Dear Editor The DA has called on Minister Patricia de Lille to urgently account to Parliament following the precautionary suspension of SA Tourism CEO, Nombulelo Guliwe. Instead of focusing on the serious allegations against the CEO, the Minister has focused on whether the Board had the authority to suspend her without a Chairperson, a distraction …

Dear Editor The Ad-hoc Committee of Parliament, into allegations of political meddling and corruption in the SAPS, considered robust terms of reference to ensure full and proper investigation can take place. The Committee hopes to adopt the terms of reference by Monday. The DA proposed and secured the following key terms being included: The use …

Dear Editor The DA calls for urgent intervention from the Minister of Higher Education and Training. The DA’s recent unannounced oversight visit to the student accommodation facilities at Westcoast College in Citrusdal found conditions that are simply unacceptable in a constitutional democracy. Please see photos here, here, here, here and here. Most of the students …

Dear Editor After sustained pressure from the DA in Parliament, we welcome the gazetting of Block Exemption regulations for the sugar industry. These regulations will allow South African sugar growers, producers and users to collaborate on key issues, and provides welcome relief to an industry facing domestic and global headwinds. The DA pushed for this …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) is gravely concerned by the continued neglect of elephant management at the Madikwe Game Reserve by the North West Parks and Tourism Board (NWPTB), and the Board’s blatant disregard for the explicit directives of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee for Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. This neglect has placed the welfare …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) can reveal that the KwaZulu-Natal Deeds Registry (Pietermaritzburg Deeds Office) is applying the new racial-classification regulation for property transfers, even more broadly than other Deeds Offices. Deeds officials in Cape Town had previously disclosed to the DA a lesser implementation, but Pietermaritzburg has taken the racial classification regulation much …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the news that even more banks are joining the Home Affairs digital banking partnership. The addition of ABSA and Discovery Bank to Capitec, FNB and Standard Bank means millions more South Africans will soon be able to apply for their Smart ID or Passport from their phone or …