The DA Joined the GNU to Create Growth and Jobs, Not to Implement the Ndr

The following speech was delivered in Parliament today by Mat Cuthbert MP, DA Head of Policy, during the debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA):

Madame Speaker,

During the ANC’s anniversary celebration last month, President Ramaphosa informed party supporters that establishing the Government of National Unity (GNU) was a strategic decision to advance the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) in light of last year’s electoral setback.

President Ramaphosa correctly pointed out that the ANC’s electoral setback forced it to work with other parties. However, he mistakenly suggested that the GNU should be the vehicle to advance the NDR.

It is precisely the policies and laws associated with the NDR that led voters to abandon the ANC, thereby paving the way for a multi-party government to enter the Union Buildings to deliver on the promise of growth and jobs.

If we are being brutally honest, all partners in the GNU recognised that the policy direction taken by the government over the past thirty years did not work and that it was time for something new.

Over the past seven months, we have begun to see the benefits of working together in the interest of all South Africans.

Investor confidence has risen, our currency has strengthened, and our growth outlook has improved.

Most importantly, for the first time in many years, South Africans have a tangible sense of hope, a fact that we should not take for granted.

We must capitalise on this opportunity to implement a comprehensive set of reforms.

These reforms include:

• Pursuing an aggressive debt-reduction strategy to ensure that we live within our means and restore macroeconomic stability;
• Expediting the private sector’s involvement in energy generation and transmission within twelve months to create a truly competitive energy market;
• Finalising port and rail concession agreements with private partners by the end of the year to enhance competitiveness and position ourselves as an export-oriented economy;
• Reviewing existing duties and tariffs which hinder trade and make goods more expensive for South African consumers; and;
• Removing the extension of collective bargaining council wage agreements for SMMEs, which obstructs hiring and contributes to our unemployment crisis.

However, these reforms will be futile if the ANC continues to pursue destructive NDR laws and policies such as the National Health Insurance Act (NHI), the Expropriation Act, and the Transformation Fund.

Whilst we welcome the removal of the NHI targets from the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP), it is only the first step in ensuring that private healthcare is protected.

The NHI Act requires substantive legislative amendments to achieve universal healthcare coverage and prevent our fiscus from collapsing.

The only way to realise universal healthcare coverage is by improving the governance of the public healthcare system and making it easier and more affordable for individuals to access private medical aid.

Furthermore, the recent enactment of the Expropriation Act has wrought havoc both domestically and abroad.

It has created significant uncertainty for both domestic and international investors, undermined property rights, and triggered a backlash from our longstanding and valued trading partner, the United States of America.

This comes at a critical time when our continued participation in the America Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and critical aid funding is under review.

Understanding the grave risks this poses to the South African economy, the DA invoked clause 19.3 of the Statement of Intent and will soon challenge the Expropriation Act in court to ensure that property rights as enshrined in Section 25 of the Constitution are protected.

The most recent manifestation of the ANC’s relentless approach to race-based legislation is the R100 Billion Transformation Fund, despite empirical evidence suggesting that these race-based policies have failed to uplift the vast majority of South Africans while only benefitting a politically connected elite.

Instead, South Africa needs means-based redress that targets poverty as the proxy for disadvantage as opposed to race. This ensures that we address the historical injustices of the past whilst encouraging investment and job creation.

Mr President, the DA will not be a party to laws and policies which seek to entrench the NDR at the expense of growth and jobs.

Make no mistake, we will use our position in government and Parliament to block laws and policies that seek to destroy the South African economy and wreck our citizens’ livelihoods.

We joined the GNU to drive growth up and unemployment numbers down. However, we can only achieve this by implementing a fresh policy reform agenda at greater depth and speed.

Thank you.