Letter

The speech below was delivered by the DA Finance Spokesperson Dr. Mark Burke during a debate in Parliament on the 2025 Budget: Madam Speaker, It’s significant that this report was considered yesterday in committee, on the first of April. A farcical day for a farcical process leading to a farcical report. Yet it’s a report …

Dear Editor The South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC) was set to launch yesterday, Tuesday 1 April 2025. This didn’t happen and there’s been no communication from the SANPC or it’s transitional holding company the Schedule 2 state owned CEF group. The failure to go live or launch by the company has serious implications for …

Dear Editor The DA has written to Labour and Employment Minister, Nomakhosazana Meth, requesting her to provide reasons for the delay in tabling the UIF Annual Report. Minister Meth’s failure to submit the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s (UIF) 2023/24 Annual Report to the Select Committee on Economic Development and Trade is a matter of serious concern. …

Dear Editor Despite Eskom’s extension of Rooftop Solar registration, the DA argues that Eskom hasn’t done enough to reduce charges and requirements that hinder the rapid roll-out of rooftop solar, which helps reduce load-shedding. The DA demands that Eskom and Nersa review the registration requirements for rooftop solar as a matter of urgency, and do …

Dear Editor Tonight ActionSA has done a deal with the ANC to pass a 1% VAT hike over the next 2 years, making life more expensive for South Africans. The DA has fought and negotiated for a Budget that would have created growth and jobs, cut the waste in government and stopped VAT hikes – …

Dear Editor Every child deserves to be safe, and every parent or guardian deserves the peace of mind that when they send their child to school, they are sending them to a place of care, not a place of harm. Today, as thousands march across South Africa under the banner of #JusticeForCwecwe, we are forced …

Dear Editor Last week, the Gauteng High Court issued a stinging ruling that the Gauteng Health Department acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally in failing to provide urgent radiation treatment to thousands of cancer patients. But five days later, we have yet to hear Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s response to this scandal which has probably caused more deaths …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance will be laying criminal charges against Thembi Simelane after allegations have emerged of her involvement in yet another corruption scandal, this time involving Eskom and her previous employer, Vitrovian. In addition the DA will write to the National Prosecuting Authority to determine what progress has been made on the investigation …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) has finalised an extensive report regarding the debilitating water issues in the Koukamma Municipality that will be submitted to national government to address this looming humanitarian crisis. Over the past few weeks, the DA conducted oversight inspections of water and sewerage infrastructure in Joubertina and other regions of the …

Dear Editor The failure of the proposed budget to plan and compensate for the funding shortfall created by the cancellation of PEPFAR disbursements is a damning indictment of the Health Departments’ lack of capacity to deal with crises and the abdication of its most fundamental responsibility: protecting the lives, health and wellbeing of South Africa’s …

Dear Editor The DA has submitted our comments on the proposed block exemption regulations that will allow for stakeholders to collectively determine tariffs for healthcare services, diagnosis and treatment codes, and quality metrics. (Please see attached). The proposed regulations attempt to address issues in the private healthcare sector which have come under fire for being …

Dear Editor Despite repeated calls by the Democratic Alliance (DA) for a full Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigation into the National Skills Fund (NSF), President Cyril Ramaphosa has only initiated an investigation into a select few programs, despite mounting indications of corruption and mismanagement at the NSF and its projects. The President’s limitation of the …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance unequivocally condemns Eskom’s unconscionable 12.74% tariff increase for direct customers, effective on the 1st of April. It is a brutal economic assault on ordinary South Africans already pushed to the brink of financial collapse. We demand a comprehensive and transparent review of Eskom’s pricing model. The Electricity Pricing Policy needs …

Dear Editor The DA demands that the Passenger Rail Agency of SA starts to deliver reliable train operations for all people of South Africa. To do this it must run itself as an effective company, with clean, transparent and un-corrupt management – which must be overseen by Parliament. To put PRASA in ICU, the DA …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance has formally requested the Chairpersons of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence to allow members of the committee an opportunity to question the Minister of Defence and Chief of the South African National Defence Force about the SA Army’s insensitive and tone-deaf plan to host a Golf Day on 4 …

Dear Editor A DA compliant to the SA Human Rights Commission will be investigated, after I formally filed the documents and records with them on Thursday 20 March 2025. The DA is pleased that the SAHRC will take this matter forward, as the community of Palama, Mapheshini and KaMqhewane cannot be denied water for 12 …

Dear Editor Today’s taxi strike in Buffalo City has once again exposed the fragility of our public transport system and the devastating impact it has on ordinary people. Commuters have been left stranded, and learners in uniform were seen walking the streets of East London after their scholar transport failed to arrive. The disruption caused …

Dear Editor The Quarterly Employment Survey for December 2024, reporting 91 000 fewer people being employed than in the previous year, shows that economic growth and the creation of jobs is now unquestionably the most critical and pressing imperative for our nation. We are forced to confront a reality where all economic decision-making must result …

Dear Editor Growing incidents of Air Traffic Navigation system issues, Air Traffic Controller capacity issues, and dilapidation at airports across the country demands proper investigatory oversight and accountability from Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport. The DA will write to the Committee Chairperson, requesting an appearance by Minister Barbara Creecy for her to transparently explain the …

Dear Editor The DA has written to the chairperson of the Parliament’s Mineral and Petroleum Resources Portfolio Committee to call Minister Mantashe and PetroSA before the committee to explain the collapse of the Gazprombank deal and to provide a clear pathway forward for PetroSA’s Mossel Bay Refinery to be financed by an alternative financier. From …