Letter

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance has submitted its petition to Parliament in which we are calling on the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, and her Department to release Onderstepoort Biological Products’ (OBP) vaccine strains to the private sector so that they can assist with the production of vaccines to save …

Dear Editor With the rising cost of living and soaring unemployment, poor households that rely on free basic electricity and water are under threat to immediately be cut out from accessing basic services. This is if The Municipal Debt Relief plan is passed that implies that impoverished households are required to relinquish their constitutional entitlements …

Dear Editor South Africa cannot participate in “mediation efforts” between Russia and Ukraine with any credibility whilst allegations that the country may have aided and abetted Russia’s war of aggression remain unresolved. In a portfolio committee meeting of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) yesterday, senior government officials informed Parliament that the President …

Dear Editor A legal blunder during a parliamentary portfolio committee on social development meeting in May 2022 might have jeopardised the passing of the committee’s Children’s Amendment Bill. It now seems that legal advice to reject certain clauses instead of separating the Bill into two could imperil the Bill as there may not be enough …

Dera Editor 33% of Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN) and 19% of learners that qualify for learner transport do not receive the necessary transport assistance. This was revealed during a parliamentary portfolio committee on basic education meeting with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) this week. The learner transport system in South Africa faces …

Dear Editor In a reply to a DA Parliamentary question, the Minister of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), Thoko Didiza, revealed that her Department has spent R78 million purchasing foot and mouth vaccines from Botswana. This comes after the DA asked for reasons why vaccines cannot be procured in South Africa. This revelation …

Dear Editor Results from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) that was released today show that 81% of South African learners in grade 4 cannot read for meaning. In fact, South Africa scored significantly lower than the center point of the PIRLS scale – 288 compared to 500. What is possibly more concerning …

Dear Editor The release of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for Q1:2023 reveals a grim reality: South Africa’s unemployment crisis is not only persisting but intensifying. The official unemployment rate has escalated to 32.9%, a 0.2 percentage point increase from the preceding quarter. An analysis of these figures reveals that the ANC government’s inability …

Dear Editor I visited Washington DC two weeks ago to launch a campaign to protect AGOA, the programme which gives SA preferential access to key US markets. I will now intensify this work by meeting with agriculture and industry bodies, DA governments, the US ambassador and international organisations. My message is clear: The ANC does …

Dear Editor The DA notes reports that the Commander of the South African ground forces, Lieutenant-General Lawrence Mbatha has led a delegation to Russia that discussed “issues relating to military cooperation and interaction” with their Russian counterparts. This once again demonstrates the ANC government’s callousness and insensitivity to our diplomatic and trade dilemma. News reports …

Dear Editor “Far from being the much vaunted ‘project manager’ who was to come in and fix the electricity crisis, Ramakgopa has emerged as nothing more than an ANC PR hack, paid for by the taxpayer, sent to hoodwink South Africans into believing that something was being done to roll back loadshedding. If anything, the …

Dear Editor On behalf of the The Democratic Alliance we would like to extend our sincerest condolences on the passing of South Africa’s Ambassador to the Republic of Algeria, H.E. Billy Masetlha. Ambassador Masetlha passed on 14 May 2023 after a long illness. Ambassador Masetlha has also served the South African Government previously as Director …

Dear Editor “The social perversion created by these targets constitute a clear and urgent threat to the social fabric of South Africa. The implication is that companies operating in certain parts of the country are banned from employing even a single coloured or Indian person in a particular position. If companies defy these regulations, they …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) is appalled to learn that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure owes the City of Ekurhuleni more than R1.6 million for the leasing of property hosting the Brackendowns Police Service, situated on Portion 1 & 2 of ERF 3231 Brackendowns No 88 Letaba Street in Alberton – a …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) strongly condemns the ANC’s bulldozing of the NHI Bill through the Health Portfolio Committee without amendments from opposition parties, despite overwhelming legal opinions and arguments to do so. This move by the ANC is worrying, particularly their amendment to change the definition of “migrant” to “foreigner”, which groups all …

Dear Editor As the international community grows increasingly concerned about South Africa’s dalliance with Moscow, the United States of America have now issued a stern diplomatic warning shot to the Executive to come clean and change course. More than five months have passed without confirmation from the President or his Defense Minister as to exactly …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance welcomes that the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Thandi Modise, has acceded to our request to appoint an Acting Director General in the Department of Military Veterans without delay. This comes after the DA wrote a letter to the minister on the 19th of April 2023 in which I …

Dear Editor In another hard-hitting question to the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, the DA has exposed that despite 6 months passing since the last follow-up, barely a dent has been made in paying the outstanding medical aid contributions to Medipos, which the South African Post Office (SAPO) owes to its employees. R561.7 million …

Dear Editor It is clear that South African Tourism (SAT) is in serious trouble as it encounters one crisis after another. Within days of being appointed as the SAT acting CEO, Nomasonto Ndlovu has been implicated in bribery. Information provided to me indicates that a whistle-blower called the SAT hotline with claims that Ndlovu, on …

Dear Editor Once again, Minister Sihle Zikalala did not appear at the Portfolio Committee Meeting for the Department Of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) this week – because he was in the Netherlands to propagate Infrastructure South Africa’s (ISA) efforts to get hydrogen projects off the ground. While this might be a noble effort, it …

Dear Editor The DA calls on the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, to institute an audit of all the National School Nutrition Programmes (NSNP) in all the provinces, after learners in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and the Eastern Cape have been forced to go hungry because those Departments failed to ensure schools had food to provide …

Dear Editor Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, at the eleventh hour, postponed his highly anticipated address to Parliament today. The Minister was expected make an “Executive Statement on the Energy Plan Activities and Short to Medium Term Interventions to Limit the Intensity and Frequency of Load Shedding”. No reasons for this postponement were provided. We are …

Dear Editor In today’s sitting of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), the committee was briefed by the Eskom Board on allegations of corruption, theft, maladministration, sabotage, and other financial irregularities made by ex-GCEO, Mr. Andre de Ruyter. The early use of the axiom “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” by the Chairperson of the …