DA has no regrets joining GNU – Steenhuisen

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Cape Town — 100 days into the Government of National Unity (GNU), the Democratic Alliance (DA) has had no regrets about its decision to join the GNU and “turn South Africa around.”

In a statement, DA leader John Steenhuisen said the DA faced a decision following the elections. Either leave South Africa to the Economic Freedom Fighters and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) or enter the GNU with the African National Congress (ANC) and put South Africa first.

“By entering the Government of National Unity, the DA has generated enormous optimism for a better future and injected new confidence in our country’s economic prospects. In the 100 days since the election, the DA has begun to turn that optimism into action,” Steenhuisen said.

It said the decision to prioritise economic growth and job creation.

“The single most important outcomes for the GNU are higher levels of growth and lower unemployment. Those are the KPIs that the DA is focused on,” he added.

He said the DA has viewed every department in which it is involved as an opportunity to drive growth and jobs and develop policies accordingly, highlighting the work done by the DA Minister and Deputy Ministers.

Pinpointing the DA’s successes so far, he spoke about Operation Vulindlela improving all travel and transport systems, including rails and ports, while also reforming the local government financial model.

He praised the “Home Affairs @ home” vision, which aims to bring world-class service to clients without having to visit a Home Affairs office, and also praised the Department for clearing the backlog of nearly 250 000 IDs. The DA also introduced the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) to unlock tourism from China and India.

He added that the DA has met the KPIs of the Energy and Water SETA, and the Fibre, Processing and Manufacturing SETA, to include the number of learners absorbed into employment or enabled to become entrepreneurs.

The DA has also initiated the first comprehensive review of education financing and began the process of stabilising education funding.

“Initiated a study into the economic impact of reducing VAT and import duties on smart devices to enable more South Africans to access 4 and 5G networks. This would significantly boost GDP,” he added.

While the DA has praised the GNU, many political analysts have expected more of the same country as has been for the past few decades, with no change in the lives of the poor, IOL reported.

The civil rights organisation, Real Democracy, raised concern about the partners in the GNU, saying it was a marriage to maintain the status quo.

“This union between the ANC and DA, which are two parties traditionally viewed as political adversaries, is far from a partnership rooted in common goals for the benefit of the people,” said Real Democracy chair Srini Naidoo.

Political economist, Duma Gqubule. said the GNU had a bleak future.

“I hope it collapses and we can begin to think about what change will look like. The prospects are not good for South Africans, especially the youth because my focus is unemployment,” he said.

He added that, after 100 days, there has been nothing said to address the unemployment crisis, and nothing done to tighten micro-economies.

Gqubule said different results could not be expected when the same things were done repeatedly and said the ANC has now repeated the same failed economic policies.

Professor Sipho Seepe said the ANC had 30 years to deliver its promise of a better life for all but failed despite its political dominance.

He added that 100 days was not enough time to address South Africa’s structural problems and said ministers should stop media campaigns that polish their image and should start doing real work.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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