DA MP joins Front National - says self determination is the concept for the future

9 October 2015

During a press conference at the manor house of the historical Laborie Estate in Paarl this afternoon, Daniël Lötter (FNSA Head of Information) and Dean Dart (National Youth Leader) welcomed Deetlefs du Toit to the party. Du Toit was thanked for his future dedication towards achieving self determination and creating awareness of the concept and right to self-determination in foreign countries.

 Deetlefs du Toit is founder-member of the Democratic Alliance and served as MP for the DA from 2009. In this capacity he served as member of Parliamentary committees such as Scopa, Skoor, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and also Police and Security. He served as DA shadow-opponent to Tina Joemat Petterson.

Lötter declared that the citizens of a state with a healthy democracy is entitled to protection of their values and identity, freedom and security. Democracy is not functioning well in SA at the moment and as a result minority groups are being marginalized through their language and heritage which are being targeted. An increasing number of people are looking at self determination as an option for the future, and that we will not find with the DA. An opposition party, in a functioning democracy, must oppose government, not serve as an extension of it.

 Du Toit declared that he left the DA because the policy of the party underwent sudden, dramatic changes. “ The DA is not interested in minority rights at all, and that includes ALL minority groups.” He stated that the DA only plans to govern in the very same as the ANC, only with a little less corruption.

With reference to the Dianne Kohler-Barnard affair, Du Toit stated: “She merely reposted the opinion of someone else. In the DA there is little opportunity for freedom of speech. If you say something controversial, you are a marked person. If you refuse to vote for the person you are told to vote for, you are a marked person. If you have to fear the consequences of freedom of speech, you don’t have freedom of speech.”

“Reacting to a question by a journalist as to why Du Toit opted to join Front National, he replied: “There are too many politicians in Parliament only for the sake of their own pockets. Those are people turning politics into a career. Front National convinced me that they are not interested in that, they are here to fight for certain priorities, in particular self-determination. Let us give them the opportunity.” Du Toit described the current dispensation as being in a cul-de-sac. “I was part of the DA caucus, I sat on the Parliamentary seats, Mmusi Maimane and other leaders have no vision for anything other than the current disposition. Polititians sometimes sells hope, even false hope. The DA’s vision 2029 will lead nowhere.”

Statement issued by Francois Cloete, Front Nasionaal, 9 October 2015