STRAIGHT TALK
While Deputy President Paul Mashatile lives lavishly in the luxury homes of his tenderpreneur friends with their billion-rand government contracts, millions of pensioners and their dependents have gone hungry and cold for three weeks because of his government’s failure to pay SASSA grants on time.
SASSA grants are a lifeline to half the nation. It should be unthinkable that they would be paid even a day late, never mind three weeks. And late payment is not the only issue.
A leaked Treasury report tells us that South Africa is going bankrupt amid massive revenue shortfalls and a wasteful, bloated government unwilling to trim anywhere and unable to deliver on even its basic mandate.
At this rate, the government will soon not be able to pay grants at all. Meantime the value of those grants is eroding in the face of a cost-of-living crisis caused by government failures on every front.
Voters have a clear binary choice in the 2024 national and provincial elections: a corrupt, uncaring ANC-EFF Doomsday Coalition or an honest, caring Multi-Party Charter government that prioritises the vulnerable.
Lifestyle audits shine a bright spotlight on this clear choice. They are powerful corruption-busters.
One of the terms of the Charter’s signed agreement is that any candidate put forward for election as an office bearer must undergo an independent lifestyle audit, which will be published. This is in line with the Charter’s shared governing principles, which include a commitment to:
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.
Incoming Premier Alan Winde of DA-run Western Cape kept his 2019 promise and appointed an independent contractor though an open tender process, to conduct lifestyle audits on MECs. These audits revealed that all Western Cape MECs live a lifestyle in line with their income, and that there were not conflicts of interest.
By contrast, President Ramaphosa has not kept his promise to the nation to conduct lifestyle audits on members of his executive, which he made in his 2018 SONA reply speech.
This is a call to action to rescue South Africa by voting DA. Please urge your friends and family to register. They can check their registration status or kickstart the registration process at www.check.da.org.za. The choice is clear, and the choice is yours.
Yours sincerely
John Steenhuisen
DA Leader
