Letter

Dear Editor The DA welcomes the buy-in from the Minister of Electricity, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, into our long-held position that the government should not enter into a 20-year contract with Karpowerships. Not only is this not “emergency procurement” but it places an unnecessary burden on the fiscus that South Africa can ill-afford. We hold the firm …

Dear Editor The DA strongly condemns the statement made by the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Thandi Modise, during the budget debate, where she and fellow ANC members of parliament nonchalantly declared the cargo loaded on the Lady R as confidential. Her crude words, “We put f***l on that ship. Nothing” displays a shocking …

Dear Editor On 19 May 2023, the DA published its notice of intention to introduce the Children’s Amendment Bill, 2023. After months of hard work, the Bill is now a few steps away from being introduced into Parliament. A copy of the gazette notice can be found HERE. There is a glaring void in the …

Dear Editor It has become clear in the last 24 hours that the current cholera outbreak is not exclusively a Tshwane issue, but that we are facing a possible national cholera outbreak. Incidences of cholera have also been reported in the Free State and Limpopo, confirming that the outbreak in Tshwane is not the result …

Dear Editor The DA has submitted a request to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula, for a debate of national importance on the ever-present threat of a grid collapse and the implications that this will have on the country’s socio-economic order. South Africans need answers on the contingency measures that government has …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) expresses deep concern about the possible grid collapse that could have severe implications for food security and the entire food system in the country. It is disconcerting that stakeholders in the sector must beg Minister Thoko Didiza and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development for information …

Dear Editor The FF Plus strongly opposes the Gauteng Legislature’s support of the Copyright and Performers Protection Amendment Bills and will submit a minority report on it to the Legislature. It will highlight the irrationality and destructive consequences of the Bills. It will also be valuable for future litigation against the proposed legislation. The Legislature’s …

Dear Editor Government’s statements and actions concerning the controversial Karpowership create the impression that the ANC government is willing to throw all environmental concerns overboard. Part of the 2020 emergency power plan was that these floating power stations would be connected to the national power grid at Richards Bay, Coega and Saldanha Bay. The FF …

Dear Editor On insistence of the FF Plus, political parties submitted their respective legal opinions on the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill by tabling it in the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health. In a vote on the matter, the DA followed the FF Plus’s example and rejected the Bill. The IFP and ANC voted in …

Dear Editor When a government is grey listed by the International Financial Action Task Force (FATF) it should serve as a wake-up call. But it made no impression on the ANC. Instead, government is misleading itself and the people about the detrimental impact of the country’s grey list status. The FATF keeps watch over international …

Dear Editor The ever-rising unemployment rate in South Africa is the direct result of the ANC’s miserable failure as government. According to the latest statistics, which were announced today, the unemployment rate currently stands at 32,9%. It was 32,7% in the fourth quarter of 2022. Racially driven legislation, like the Employment Equity Amendment Act, will …

Dear Editor “The incoherence of the Act’s quotas betrays the hasty and clumsy manner in which they were formulated. This demonstrates a knee-jerk, electioneering ploy, devoid of any thoughtful consideration of the far-reaching implications.” The proposed quotas in the Employment Equity Amendment Act – or Racial Quota Act, as the DA calls it – will …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) condemns State Security Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni’s attendance of the “International Meeting of High-level Officials responsible for Security Matters” in Russia. Given the recent claims made by the US Ambassador in South Africa regarding alleged ammunition supply to Russia by South Africa, this visit is yet another diplomatic blunder that …

Dear Editor New information obtained by the Democratic Alliance (DA) through parliamentary questions reveals that, over a period of two years, the ANC government spent R93 million on maintaining the 97 mansions, valued at nearly R1 billion, occupied by its Ministers and Deputy Ministers in Pretoria and Cape Town. The DA is submitting a complaint …

The following speech was delivered by the DA Federal Leader John Steenhuisen in Chatsworth, KwaZulu-Natal today. Nearly 100 years ago, a man was born in the small town of Schweizer-Reneke in today’s North West Province. He was the fourth of six children, with family roots going back to the Indian state of Gujarat. His name …

Dear Editor The DA calls on the ANC to conduct an internal audit of all its public representatives with degrees obtained from the University of Fort Hare since 2013. A recent oversight conducted at the University of Fort Hare revealed the level of political interference by the ANC in the faculty of Public Administration at …

Dear Editor Acting Speaker of the National Assembly, Honourable Tsenoli, has denied my request for an urgent debate of national importance on US allegations that South Africa provided war materials to Russia. His rationale is that the allegations although serious, remain speculative. But even though the allegations “may yet prove unfounded”, they have already done …

Dear Editor The DA is deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Dr Denis Worrall – an exceptional individual whose contributions as an academic, businessman, politician, and diplomat left a lasting impact on South Africa. Denis Worrall’s political career spanned several significant roles in politics and diplomacy – he was a Senator for the …

Dear Editor Outside every South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) office there will be a long queue in which South Africa’s most vulnerable would have either slept over in a desperate attempt to receive assistance or stand all day only to be turned away when the office closes. Queues have become synonymous with SASSA. In …

Dear Editor Senior managers within the public service, who are already earning millions of rands in salaries per year, are violating the existing provisions in law by failing to obtain permission to engage in Other Remunerative Work (ORW) outside of the public service – a practice which has seen some of them earn up to …

Dear Editor The DA has submitted a PAIA application to the Minister of Transport, Lydia Chikunga, requesting that she provides a record of decision that informed her Ministry’s decision to issue a section 79 directive that will see the Transnet National Ports Authority provide harbour space for Karpowerships for the next 20 years. Devoid of …