The Democratic Alliance notes the results of the ANC’s leadership election in Mangaung.

 

While personal congratulations to the winner of an election are always in order, the re-election of Jacob Zuma as President of the ANC is not good news for South Africa. His lack of leadership on any of the major policy questions that we face will continue, as will the corruption and abuse of public resources that has so far characterised his time in office. Unemployed and poor South Africans will feel particularly let down today, as it is they who bear the real brunt of a President and government that cannot offer any implementable solutions for economic growth and job creation.

 

President’s Zuma’s re-election sends out the clear message to ANC members around the country that it is acceptable to use positions in government for personal enrichment, and not for public service.  It sends out the message that corruption and the abuse of public funds for personal gain is acceptable in the ANC, and that there will be no consequences for the guilty.  And it sends out the message that the ANC is the kind of party that puts powerful people above the law.  This is particularly clear globally, where it is just inconceivable that a President who has avoided, for three years, facing trial on over 700 counts of corruption, could be re-elected a Party President.

 

However, we should also take heart from today’s result because it will hasten the disintegration and collapse of the ANC. Many ANC members and many more ANC voters are feeling alienated by today’s decision in Mangaung. The Democratic Alliance will continue to build a real alternative government made up of all South Africans who believe as we do in the future of our country, and who share our values.

 

We invite all South Africans who are disappointed by the ANC’s decision today to join this movement – this new majority that is working for, and delivering, meaningful social change and job creation in South Africa.

Cabinet Report Card 2012: President Zuma is failing South Africa

Lindiwe Mazibuko, Parliamentary Leader of the Democratic Alliance
6 December 2012

2012 will be remembered both as a tragic year for South Africa and a turning point in our democracy. From the tragedy at Marikana, to the textbook crises in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape; from ‘Nkandlagate’ to R5 billion in spending on entertainment by government departments; 2012 revealed with more clarity than ever before the extent to which we have a leaderless government which is not delivering.

As the official opposition in Parliament the Democratic Alliance (DA) has a mandate to hold the executive to account and to provide oversight over its performance. The 2012 Cabinet Report Card aims to do just this, by providing an overview of how the President, Deputy President and the 34 Cabinet Ministers have fared during 2012.

In doing so, our report card seeks to give effect to Section 92(2) of the Constitution which provides that “Members of Cabinet are accountable collectively and individually to Parliament for the exercise of their powers and the performance of their functions.”

The DA’s 2012 Cabinet Report Card allocates scores to each Minister, the President and the Deputy President based on qualitative broad criteria including:
•    Policy Direction: Does the Minister have a clearly articulated vision for his/ her department and has he/ she been effective in implementing this vision?
•    Attitude towards Accountability & Attendance in Parliament: What is the Minister’s conduct in office, particularly regarding his/ her approach to accountability and his/ her attitude to parliament?
•    Finance and Administration: Does the Minister keep a tight hand on the purse strings of his/ her department and how has the Department or office performed under his/ her watch?
Each Member of Cabinet, on the basis of this analysis, was given a score between an A and an F.

In an effort to make this Report Card more constructive and to indicate where we believe that Members of the Executive can and must improve delivery, the report card also includes a section on “Challenges for 2013”.

This assessment is not only about what went wrong, but also about what the executive can do to get it right.

Leading the worst performers in Cabinet this year, President Zuma failed comprehensively to provide effective leadership in government, failing to solve crises that were often preventable and regularly being a direct cause of the challenges faced by his government. These include:
•    The lacklustre response by the government to the tensions leading up to and following the Marikana Tragedy, and his subsequent reaction to on-going labour unrest across the country;
•    The ruling by the Constitutional Court that Mr Zuma’s appointment of Menzi Simelane as National Director of Public Prosecutions was “irrational” and “invalid”;
•    The failure of the National Prosecuting Authority to comply with a decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal to hand over the ‘Spy Tapes’ to the DA, and the President’s failure to intervene in this constitutional crisis;
•    The ‘Nkandlagate’ scandal, which continues to worsen by the day, and has already cost the public more than a quarter of a billion rand. There is growing evidence to suggest that the President was aware of the costs, and has misled Parliament in trying to argue his lack of involvement;
•    The lack of economic policy direction and the continued existence of two competing economic plans in government, neither of which has any hope of being implemented.  The downgrading of South Africa’s credit rating by Standard & Poor and Moody’s was an indictment of Mr Zuma’s handling of the economy. The President continues to kow-tow to COSATU and the SACP at the expense of delivering on policy promises.
These failures resulted in President Zuma scoring an ‘F’.

They were also the motivation for the decision by the DA, together with seven opposition parties, to table a motion of no confidence in the President last month. His performance in 2012 is clear evidence that Mr Zuma should no longer be entrusted with the highest office in the land.

This stands in contrast to Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe, whom we have scored a ‘C’. While he was not the top performer in Cabinet this past year, Mr Motlanthe displayed noteworthy qualities which President Zuma clearly lacks: a dedication to the Constitution; an honest approach to the serious challenges facing the government and a willingness to engage openly with Parliament and with South Africans.

Unlike President Zuma’s “head-in-the-sand” attitude towards the failures of the government under the ANC, Mr Motlanthe has acknowledged the right of South Africans to  “…judge the ANC for what it is and not what it was." While he must get off the political fence by more openly declaring his policy preferences, and while he could do more to crack the whip as Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly, 2012 has shown clearly that Mr Motlanthe would make a better Head of State for South Africa than his principal.

Some of the other worst performers who received an ‘F’ are Minister of Labour, Mildred Olifant, who was missing in action during a number of South Africa’s biggest labour disputes since the end of Apartheid; Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa, who has presided over the militarisation of an increasingly violent police force; Minister of State Security, Siyabonga Cwele, who has continued to drive his unconstitutional ‘secrecy bill’ agenda and violate the separation of powers by dictating to MPs how they should legislate; and Minister in the Presidency, Collins Chabane, who has done virtually no monitoring and evaluation of the government, and has failed to contribute at all to any improved performance in cabinet.

It is worth acknowledging separately the disastrous and embarrassing tenure of Tina Joemat-Peterson as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, who also received an ‘F’. Her handling of almost every single matter before her has been so incompetent and negligent that there is no longer any doubt that she should be removed from cabinet without any further delay.

These unfortunate performances compare poorly with those of the handful of top-achievers in the government. The Minister of Health, Aaron Motsoaledi, and the current Minister of Home Affairs, Naledi Pandor, rated for previous position as Minister of Science and Technology, stand out in this regard, both receiving an ‘A’ for their hard work in improving delivery on their mandates. Ms Pandor will need to build on the successes of former Minister of Home Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, in her new ministry so that the progress at the department is continued.

They are joined by the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies and the Minister of Tourism, Marthinus Van Schalkwyk who all received a commendable ‘B’.

2013 will bring a whole new set of challenges for the executive. Some of these will be a continuation of the crises South Africa has witnessed in 2012, others will be unavoidable, while others still can be prevented if action is taken wisely. As we seek to build a South Africa that works smartly and effectively for all the people, it is essential that our government is held to the standard of bold leadership at all times, by a President and a cabinet who put the interests of South Africans above their own.

The DA will be there every step of the way: holding the executive to account, providing alternative policy solutions, and championing respect for the Constitution and the values enshrined in the Bill of Rights. By doing so, we remain committed to making sure that South Africa truly delivers on the promise of 1994.

Summary of Grades:

Department/ Position	Name	Grade
President	Jacob Zuma	F
Deputy President	Kgalema Motlanthe	C
Health	Aaron Motsoaledi	A
Basic Education	Angie Motshekga	D
Social Development	Bathabile Dlamini	D
Transport	Ben Martins	D
Higher Education and Training	Blade Nzimande	D
Presidency: Perfomance Monitoring and Evaluation	Collins Chabane	F
Communications	Dina Pule	E
Energy	Dipuo Peters	D
Economic Development	Ebrahim Patel	E
Water and Environmental Affairs	Edna Molewa	C
Sport and Recreation	Fikile Mbalula	C
Rural Development and Land Reform	Gugile Nkwinti	D
Justice and Constititional Development	Jeff Radebe	E
Public Service and Administration	Lindiwe Sisulu	C
Women, Children and People with Disabilities	Lulu Xingwana	E
International Relations and Cooperation	Maite Nkoana-Mashabane	C
Public Enterprise	Malusi Gigaba	D
Tourism	Marthinus van Schalkwyk	B
Labour	Mildred Oliphant	F
Science and Technology	Naledi Pandor	A
Police	Nathi Mthethwa	F
Home Affairs	Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma	C
Defence	Nosiviwe Mpaisa-Nqakula	D
Arts and Culture	Paul Mashatile	D
Finance	Pravin Gordhan	B
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs	Richard Baloyi	D
Trade and Industry	Rob Davies	B
Correctional Services	Sibusiso Ndebele	C
State Security	Siyabonga Cwele	F
Mineral Resources	Susan Shabangu	E
Public Works	Thulas Nxesi	D
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries	Tina Joemat-Pettersson	F
Human Settlements	Tokyo Sexwale	D
Presidency: National Planning Commission	Trevor Manuel	C

November 2012 News

 

 

Education For Jobs

 

On 22 October the Party began the third push of the redress phase of its pre-campaign, focusing on Education For Jobs. The following message script has been distributed to the party:
“Apartheid denied millions of South Africans access to a decent education. This in turn denied them economic opportunity, creating a country of insiders and outsiders.
Many young South Africans who manage to finish their education discover that they lack the skills they need to find a job.
If elected to national government, the DA would make education its number one priority. A good education is the best way to get a job. And jobs are what people need to break free of poverty and live a better life.
The DA is working hard to enable every child to get a decent education and reverse Apartheid’s legacy. This is clear in the Western Cape, where the DA governs:

• In 2011 we reduced the number of under-performing high schools (i.e. high schools with a matric pass rate of less than 60%) from 78 down to 30
• Over the last two years, We have committed an extra R277 million in order to provide all children in Grades 1 to 12 with a textbook in every core subject over the next three years
• We have built 31 new school structures with 16 more due for completion in 2013
• Warm nutritious meals are provided to 428,000 poor learners across the province every day
• We have increased the number of learners who complete matric. The retention rate (preventing children from dropping out) has improved significantly. When the ANC was in government only 46.3% of pupils made it to matric. After three years of DA governance, the figure is 55.7%.

If elected to national government, the DA would implement the successful approach of the Western Cape government.
We will not allow the legacy of Apartheid education to keep people trapped in poverty. The DA is working hard to give every child the opportunities they need to get a job and have a better life.”

Nkandla

It has been revealed that Government is spending in excess of R200 million on the upgrade of President Zuma’s private home in Nkandla. The information relating to this wasteful expenditure is surreptitiously being kept under wraps using apartheid era legislation in the form of the National Key Points Act.
Our Federal Leader Helen Zille remarked that the Presidency and various government departments have over the last few weeks stubbornly avoided any admission of fault or accountability for the Nkandla scandal. The Democratic Alliance will not allow President Zuma and his government to get away with spending millions, intended for essential service delivery, on his private residence at Nkandla.

The Democratic Alliance has written to President Zuma, and to the Ministers of Public Works, Defence, Police and Public Service and Administration to give them a formal opportunity to offer a full and thorough explanation of how this unacceptable expenditure came to be approved, and on what basis. The President must also explain what personal accountability he takes for the scandal, and who else in his government will be held accountable for this failure of judgement.

The DA believes that spending R250 million on upgrades to the President’s private home is not only morally wrong and unjustifiable given our country’s social needs, but that it is also possibly illegal. It is, we believe, in violation of the provisions of the Ministerial Handbook and the Executive Ethics Code.


There has been some success in our quest to uncover the truth behind this scandalous spending of public money. In response to a request by the Party’s Parliamentary Leader, Lindiwe Mazibuko, Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) Chairperson Themba Godi has announced the first step towards a full investigation by beginning to engage with the Department of Public Works on this matter.
 

Why we need high economic growth

South Africa has overcome enormous obstacles, but the biggest problem we face as a nation remains: poverty. Too many South Africans live in poverty, struggling every day to get by. They are locked out of opportunity and unable to participate in the economic mainstream.

The only sustainable way to lift a nation out of poverty is to grow the economy. Economies like Peru, Singapore and Vietnam have all recently achieved growth rates of 8% - and this has allowed them to tackle social ills like poverty, unemployment and inequality. In fast-growing Brazil poverty has fallen from 20% of the population to 7% in five years.

Economic growth is essential for poverty eradication. No country has created jobs without growth.

In South Africa there are too many constraints to growth  – and underpinning all of them is the fact that too many South Africans are left out of the economy and are unable to contribute to driving growth because they cannot find work, they cannot attain skills and they cannot start a business. Too few people participate in our economy.

The DA has a plan to change the South African economy from one that trickles along at 3% per year to one that grows at 8% so that we can lift millions of people out of poverty. We want to unlock the potential in the South African economy, break down the barriers between economic insiders and outsiders and make the market work for the many, not just the few.

Our plan is to build a dynamic, stake-holder-led economy that opens and expands economic opportunities to all. We believe South Africa has what it takes to grow at 8% and our plan will take us there.

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