Letters

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling on the Minister of Small Business Development, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, to withdraw the Business Licensing Bill immediately. This Bill is a disaster for small businesses, informal traders, and start-up entrepreneurs. It claims to make life easier for businesses but does the opposite. Under this Bill, even a street …

Dear Editor The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has promised the Higher Education & Training Committee in Parliament that there would be no glitches or interrupted payments for tuition and accommodation at the start of the 2026 academic year. To hold NSFAS to account, the DA, with the DA Student Organization, will embark on …

Dear Editor After months of delay, SAPS will tomorrow release crime statistics for the last two quarters. The DA is once again demanding that gender-based violence (GBV) and crimes against children are fully included. Just two days ago, South Africa launched the 16 Days of Activism against GBV and child abuse. It would be a …

Dear Editor Communities across Khowa, Cala, Cacadu, Indwe and Dordrecht have been left without water for days after a security strike shut down access to key water treatment works. Residents have been without supply since Monday, creating a growing health and safety emergency. Despite this, the Chris Hani District Municipality has allegedly put no interim …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) has today formally laid criminal charges against uMkhonto we Sizwe Party MP, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, for her alleged central role in recruiting and trafficking young South African men into the Russian war effort in Ukraine. We are laying these charges in terms of the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance is deeply concerned that ANC MP Malusi Gigaba, who has “stepped aside” from all ANC leadership roles due to serious criminal charges, is nevertheless intending to continue leading and participating in parliamentary oversight as Co-Chairperson of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD). The position of co-chairperson of the JSCD …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) applauds Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen for a major breakthrough in the fight against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). This is a game-changer for South Africa’s red meat industry and the farmers who feed the nation. By February next year, two million doses of FMD vaccines will be ready. A …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance has submitted a comprehensive set of Parliamentary Questions to force SAPS to account for the increasing crisis in the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), where DNA backlogs continue to rise while capacity indicators show alarming decline. Recent performance data confirms a sharp 30.88% increase in DNA case exhibit entries, climbing from …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) urges all employers in the education sector to take immediate and concerted steps to reinforce vetting processes and ensure that no individual listed on the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) or the National Child Protection Register (NCPR) is appointed to any school environment. The recent disclosure in Parliament …

Dear Editor The DA welcomes a commitment from the Deputy President, Paul Mashatile, to support legislation in Parliament that improves the economic wellbeing of all South Africans, no matter which Party introduces that Bill. The DA’s Economic Inclusion for All Bill is currently the only such Bill on the table in Parliament that will improve …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance condemns Minister of Correctional Services, Dr Pieter Groenewald, for undermining the Constitution and calling for its amendments to justify his call for corporal punishment, as this is a slippery slope to the EFF and MK agenda to undo the protections enshrined in our Constitution. Minister Groenewald suggested that MPs should …

Dear Editor South Africa begins the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence today, and the reality remains stark. Violence against women and children continues unabated, and declaring a “State of Disaster” alone is not a tangible solution. Every life lost, every survivor retraumatised, is a failure we cannot accept. South Africa recently shut down ahead …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) to lay criminal charges against former RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo after he failed to appear before the Committee today. If he does not appear tomorrow, the DA says SCOPA must immediately proceed under section 17 of the Powers, Privileges …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance is calling for urgent action from Parliament and law-enforcement after new and very disturbing information came to light about how 17 young South African men were lured into travelling to Russia and then forced into the Ukraine war. These men were promised bodyguard or security training. But when they arrived, …

Dear Editor Today marks a landmark moment for South Africans around the world and a victory more than a decade in the making. Following the Constitutional Court’s historic judgment on 6 May 2025, which struck down Section 6(1)(a) of the South African Citizenship Act as unconstitutional, the pathway to restore the citizenship of those who …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance has convened an extended Federal Council meeting today, to debate and decide on key policy positions including the framework of our Manifesto for the Local Government Election. The extended Federal Council sits today as a Policy Conference, and is a forum comprising DA Members of Parliament, Provincial Legislatures, Members of …

Dear Editor The DA notes President Ramaphosa’s proclamation authorising the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to probe serious allegations of maladministration, unlawful expenditure and possible corruption at South African Tourism (SAT). This is a long-overdue step, and one the DA has been calling for as SAT has lurched from crisis to crisis under Minister Patricia de …

Dear Editor The DA is deeply saddened by the passing of Judge Leonora van den Heever, South Africa’s first female judge and the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of Appeal. Appointed in 1969, Van den Heever broke historic barriers in the Northern Cape Division before rising to the Appellate Division in 1991, …