Mkhonto upbeat of DA’s election chances

The Democratic Alliance is rooting for coalition politics in governance after the recently announced 8 May national and provincial general elections.

This was said by the party’s proportional representative for Alexandra, Shadrack Mkhonto, following the announcement of the date in Parliament by President Matamela Ramaphosa.

“Coalitions are the long-term form of democratic governance needed to protect the country against wanton corruption that deviated public resources through greed of individuals at the expense of service delivery to the public,” Mkhonto said in reference to jaw-dropping revelations by commissions of inquiry on massive corruption in both public and private sectors. “The stolen money could have developed thousands of houses, schools, improved the public health system and dented poverty and unemployment threatening national peace.”

Coalitions he said, provide transparency and negotiate resource allocation, use, monitoring and accountability. “No party in the arrangement can use resources whimsically without accounting to other partners and this ensures that every cent is accounted for.

“Also, suspect lifestyles of those who pilfer are probed without favour and the stolen resources recovered and brought back for public use.”

Mkhonto said with the centre stage now on political parties’ campaigns, pundits’ prediction of the ruling ANC party’s victory may not happen. “The public now has enlightenment about the corruption tainting this party.

“If they win nationally it will be marginal and below 51 per cent. This will favour a coalition arrangement, similar to ones currently in Joburg and Tshwane metros of Gauteng and Nelson Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape.

“Valuable lessons learnt from these experimental coalitions will stop any corrupt tendencies through, trust and hawkish scrutiny over each other in the interest of public good.”

He added that the coalitions would also benefit from the ruling party’s preference for a centralised than the proportional representation system of appointing members to parliamentary positions. “Citizens won’t again, fall prey to a system that excludes their preferred choices for representatives.

“They and their prefered candidates will either vote for the opposition or abstain further boosting parties in coalitions.”

He added that it would also be foolhardy for the DA to emulate the ANC if it obtained any majority. “We have learnt from the commissions’ work on how not to self-destruct by stealing or plundering public resources,” he said, referring to the ANC leader Oliver Tambo’s prophesy that they (ANC) would not be defeated by the enemy but killed from within itself.

His party’s campaign focus targets the masses through door-to-door. “They lack political knowledge and are easily misled, unlike the middle who read, assess, see and decide who to vote for from an informed basis.

“We urge the Independent Electoral Commission and NPO Right to Know to also conduct intensive voter and democracy education to enable the public to understand the importance of their vote.”

Mkhonto is confident of their coalition retaining Gauteng’s major cities and adding the provincial government including other metros and provinces. “Winning nationally will be a bonus.”

The DA’s campaign message is:

• Fight corruption
• Honest and professional police service
• Fair access to jobs
• Secure borders
• Speed up basic service delivery.

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