STRAIGHT TALK

8 September 2023

The bad news is, Stage 6 loadshedding is back.

The good news is, the DA has won another victory in our fight to outlaw its root cause, cadre deployment.

(Cadre deployment is the ANC’s policy of ensuring administrative appointments to state-owned enterprises and government departments are based on political loyalty to the ANC rather than merit. No policy has done more to fuel the corruption and incompetence that has collapsed services in South Africa. The DA has opposed the policy vehemently since the ANC adopted it in 1997.)

On Monday, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed the ANC’s last-ditch attempt to appeal the Johannesburg High Court’s instruction to the ANC to hand over complete records of its national cadre deployment committee to the DA within five days.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

The people of South Africa deserve to see how the ANC has corrupted appointment processes to give jobs to cadres to entrench its control over every lever of state and maximise opportunities for extraction.

They deserve to see the central role played by Ramaphosa as chairman of the ANC’s national deployment committee during Jacob’s Zuma’s administration, overseeing the appointment of such state capture kingpins as ex-Eskom CEO Brian Molefe, as detailed in the Zondo Report.

The DA is also awaiting a ruling in our other court application where we’ve asked the Pretoria High Court to uphold the Zondo recommendations and declare cadre deployment unconstitutional and unlawful.

In the 2024 Provincial and National Elections, citizens can replace cadre corruption with merit-based appointments by voting for the DA. Along with our six partner parties in the Multi-Party Charter, we are offering South Africa an alternative government next year based on a shared and sworn commitment to:

The South African Constitution, the rule of law, and equality before the law.

Decentralising power to the lowest effective level of government.

Accountable, transparent government with zero tolerance for corruption.

Capable government that spends public money efficiently to deliver quality services to all.

Caring government that puts people first and prioritises the poor.

An open market economy.

Policies guided by evidence that they produce positive results for society.

Redress our unjust past by promoting nonracialism and unity in our diversity.

In 2024, South Africans need to unite around these winning principles. The Charter is South Africa’s quickest route to cutting cadre power and ensuring reliable, affordable energy for all.

Yours sincerely

John Steenhuisen