DA’s Steenhuisen, Steyn, Smalle share shockers

In sharing their views on a host of issues varying from politics to the economy, Democratic Alliance (DA) leaders created a bleak picture of current-day South Africa and Limpopo in respective addresses to a breakfast gathering in Polokwane on Thursday morning.
DA Provincial Leader Jacques Smalle joined DA Chief Whip in the National Assembly, John Steenhuisen and DA Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Annette Steyn on the podium. First on the agenda was Steyn, who shared her views on, among others, the ongoing drought and investment in agriculture. She raised the opinion that land would forever be used for political objective in South Africa. Turning to policies and legislation she spent time discussing the passing of the Expropriation Bill, which she described as worrisome for the fact that it didn’t clearly define property to be expropriated and raised the problem of market-related value to be paid for land at the centre of a purchase deal.

With regards to the ongoing drought, she quoted statistics provided by the Department of Water and Sanitation, and expressed disbelief at the South African government denying the posing crisis while 65% of South Africans, translating into 34 million people, were without a drop of water in January and February this year.
Lastly Steyn expressed concern about a rise in farm attacks and murders countrywide, referring to 26 attacks and two murders in April alone and 31 attacks and four murders in May. The only way to prevent it was to work with organised groupings and stand together, she reckoned. Be organised and become involved to support one another, she concluded saying.
Speaking on the state of South Africa, Steenhuisen said the country was at a major crossroad at a time in the political environment when a decision had to be taken whether the country would continue on the low road the African National Congress (ANC) had set over the past two decades of low employment, low investment and slow growth. “Or we must set South Africa on the high road. We must build policy initiatives to set SA moving again, and inclusive growth that we can bring more South Africans into prosperity and into opportunity.”
With regards to the current political landscape, he alluded to the ANC coming first and the people second. Turning to potential presidential successor Cyril Ramaphosa, he said the prognosis was very poor as he stood for nobody and nothing. “We have had 10 years of a man who stands for nothing and nobody and has to please too many factions. Another 10 years of that will destroy South Africa. Mr Ramaphosa is not the answer to South Africa’s ill.” He was given two opportunities to strike a blow against President Jacob Zuma, but why did he not stand up and say he was going to take action, according to Steenhuisen.
He opined that it was very easy to get depressed about the situation in South Africa, but that it was not all doom and gloom and that the DA was very hopeful about the country. He wouldn’t be doing what he did if he did not believe that there was a future in South Africa, which could be bright and great, Steenhuisen remarked. He continued stating that the great thing was that whatever was wrong with South Africa could be fixed and that the right policy choices could make all the difference but that change was required now, because the longer one waited the deeper the hole the ANC was going to dig.
He said the DA was a party of principle, good governance and accountability and would never stop using whatever mechanisms at their power and disposal to hold the government accountable. They would never stop standing up for the Constitution, whether in Parliament, in councils or in court.
He concluded saying that on 3 August everybody had a date with destiny to vote for the DA and for change. Staying away was playing with fire, as all votes weighed exactly the same on Election Day, Steenhuizen said and stressed it was the most powerful weapon to effect change. According to him there was a far more historic mission for everyone on 3 August as they had to turn it into a referendum on Zuma as well as the direction in which the ANC was going to take the country and it had to be a referendum on the future of South Africa. The only currency the ANC understood too well was the currency of losing votes, so the DA had to strike a hammer blow against them on 3 August a and deliver the worst election results ever in the history of South Africa, he finally remarked.

Smalle took to the podium to highlight the state of Limpopo, saying not all was well in the province. He sketched a scenario of 3,3 million of the total provincial population of 5,5 million people living off social grants, 783 000 earning a living wage and 283 000 people earning enough to pay tax. The expanded unemployment rate of people having stopped hunting for work equated to 1,9 million destitute persons in the province, he said and further referred to 26% of the youth annually leaving the province in search of better opportunities without returning again. Basic services were not being delivered, as was the case at 818 schools in the province that did not have reliable electricity in classrooms and 338 schools not having proper sanitation, he stressed. “If you can’t guarantee the basics, then something is wrong and we are not on the right path.”
The province, he said, was growing at 0,7% and the city of Polokwane at 2,3% while still having a building moratorium because of lack of planning.
Smalle expressed the opinion that the demarcation of municipalities had a massive impact on Limpopo and that the city of Polokwane was inheriting one of the poorest institutions, being that of Aganang, but that discussions about labour, assets and responsibility of risk had not even begun as yet. He expressed concern over a municipality having to be formed to bring together Malamulele and Vuwani while there was no brick in place as yet.
The DA has targeted winning at least six or seven wards in the city in the upcoming local government elections, he said and stressed the importance of party candidates remaining on the council for the benefit of the city. He simultaneously listed Polokwane city’s fruitless, wasteful and irregular expenditure at R1 billion the past year, adding that 92% of Limpopo municipalities were totally dysfunctional and that it would not get better under the current leadership. The situation could only change with assistance from people like the DA and that the party was the only hope for South Africa, he concluded.

Story: YOLANDE NEL
>>observer.yolande@gmail.com

Featured photo: Democratic Alliance (DA) Chief Whip in the National Assembly, John Steenhuisen takes to the podium.