President Thabo Mbeki must go, and he must go now, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille said on Monday. ”In a constitutional democracy such as ours, it is untenable for a president with his track record to remain in office,” she said in a statement. It is ”in the interests of South Africa” that Mbeki step down as president.
Tens of millions of rands of Lotto money earmarked for charities and good causes is lying undistributed in the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday. Over a 100 non-profit organisations were affected, DA social development spokesperson Janet Semple told a parliamentary media briefing.
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The Scorpions must be disbanded because they are a counter-revolutionary force out to destroy African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma and destabilise the party, the Umkhonto weSizwe Veterans’ Association (MKVA) said on Saturday.
One of the key motives behind the Erasmus commission was to stop the realignment of South African politics, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille said on Friday. The commission was set up by Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool in December 2007 to investigate the City of Cape Town’s probe into controversial councillor Badih Chaaban.
The Department of Health and the Department of Water Affairs are still collecting door-to-door information on the outbreak of diarrhoea in the Eastern Cape which cost 78 children’s lives, the provincial government said on Thursday. Spokesperson Papama Mfenyana said the province was still waiting for information from the team on the ground.
Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri expressed ”great concern” on Wednesday about the suspension of South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) CEO Dali Mpofu and head of news Snuki Zikalala. ”All will be done on [the minister’s] part to ensure the ability of the SABC to carry out its mandate,” she said.
In politics, as in life, chickens usually come home to roost. Fourteen years of failure in leadership and management at the Department of Home Affairs. Nine years of self-indulgent denialism in the Presidency. Six months of Umshini Wami and the violence and human rights promiscuity it implies — not to mention the failure in intelligence.
Debate on the future of the Scorpions gained new steam on Monday as the government released a report from an inquiry it had commissioned into the elite detective unit. The Scorpions still have a role to play in the country’s crime-fighting efforts, states the report that was submitted to President Thabo Mbeki two years ago.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday accused Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang of keeping Aids statistics low after an official report was released by the Development Bank of South Africa. ”The minister of health must explain why official statistics are so low,” said DA spokesperson and MP Sandy Kalyan.
When was the last time you heard from Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa, Free State Premier Beatrice Marshoff, Northern Cape’s Dipuo Peters or even KwaZulu-Natal’s S’bu Ndebele? I reckon not lately. It may be true that some, such as Marshoff and Peters, have always had a low public profile anyway. But Shilowa and Ndebele?
South Africans cannot wait for the government to rescue them from crime, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said on Saturday. ”It is up to us to take our communities back. This is going to take the commitment and drive of every person … who values the ideal of a crime-free South Africa,” she said.
The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) request to attend closed sessions of the Ginwala inquiry into suspended National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli was rejected on Wednesday. The party requested permission from President Thabo Mbeki in March to attend the closed session into Pikoli’s fitness to hold office.
Statistics South Africa should appear before the finance portfolio committee to explain alleged unreliability in the Producer Price Index (PPI), said the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday. ”Reliable official data is essential to policy-making,” said DA finance spokesperson Kobus Marais.
South Africa’s international land borders are as porous as the proverbial sieve, with tens of thousands of refugees streaming into the country each week, alongside gun-smugglers and drug-traffickers, says the Democratic Alliance (DA). The party called for the deployment of South African National Defence Force troops to the worst-affected border regions,
A statutory media tribunal would not only be unconstitutional but it would not solve the plethora of problems in the industry, a discussion group concluded on Tuesday. Jane Duncan from the Freedom of Expression Institute said the proposed body would obviously be unconstitutional, and would not fly.
A total of 7 868 items of luggage belonging to South African Airways (SAA) passengers were reported missing from airports in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and East London in the three-month period between December 1 and February 29 this year.
About one third of posts for environmental impact assessment (EIA) officials are vacant, the Democratic Alliance said on Monday. DA spokesperson on the environment Rika Kruger said 37% of all posts in the directorate were vacant, while 25% of the managerial positions were also vacant.
The full Khampepe commission report will be gazetted on May 5, the official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday. DA leader Helen Zille said the presidency had written to the DA to inform it of the move. Zille said the report was a crucial source of information during the legislative process to decide on the future of the unit.
There was a need for a ”new South African” who embodied everything that was morally good, President Thabo Mbeki said on Sunday. He was addressing several thousand people at the national Freedom Day celebrations at a blustery Turfhall Stadium in Cape Town.
South Africa faces a new threat 14 years after the first democratic election, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said on Saturday. She was addressing a large crowd at the KwaZulu-Natal Freedom Day celebrations in Molweni, outside Durban. ”The threat is a ruling party that believes it is more important than the Constitution. It is a party that believes it will rule until Jesus comes,” said Zille.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will present a set of proposals to the Foreign Affairs Ministry on how the government can resolve Zimbabwe’s electoral crisis, the party said on Friday. The proposals include the possible suspension of Zimbabwe from the African Union, arms embargoes and the severing of diplomatic ties.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday proposed six steps to help the economy weather the current storm. ”Overall, sustainable and consistent policy is required,” DA spokesperson Kobus Marais told a media briefing at Parliament. ”Reverting to knee-jerk, short-term and populist measures will do more harm than ever before,” he said.
Areas in and around the Kempton Park CBD will be without power until Sunday, the Ekurhuleni municipality said on Thursday, following a fire at a substation in Spartan on Monday. The crisis has left one resident dead and residential and business areas without electricity. Meanwhile, South Africans will be free of scheduled power cuts next week, Eskom said on Thursday.
The government’s decision to reopen teacher training colleges — announced this week by Education Minister Naledi Pandor — indicates that despite programmes to increase the number of teachers trained, there is still a shortage in key areas, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Thursday.
The Education Department is considering reopening teacher training colleges, says Education Minister Naledi Pandor. In a written reply to a question in Parliament by Desiree van der Walt of the Democratic Alliance, Pandor said the department is investigating options for expanding the provision of teacher education.
There is no conclusive evidence that water problems caused the death of 78 children in the Eastern Cape, the Ukhahlamba district municipality said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Dispatch Online said nearly 80 children had died in the Eastern Cape district due to unsafe tap water, and authorities had failed to take any action.
Mike Moriarty is to step down as Democratic Alliance (DA) caucus leader in Johannesburg to make himself available for nomination as a member of the province’s legislature in next year’s parliamentary election, the party said on Wednesday. Moriarty would leave his current post on September 1.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille was emerging as a person who would go to extremes to cover up the truth, a former member of the DA said on Tuesday. ”[She is] a person who criticises the judiciary and the media because their duties do not fit her political agenda,” Kobus Brynard, a Western Cape MPL for the African National Congress, said.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni has called for the immediate suspension of the city manager. The DA’s Rika Hunter said on Tuesday that city manager Peter Flusk failed to consult the council when he appointed Dehal Attorneys to act on behalf of Robert McBride, the chief of the Ekurhuleni metro police.
The mayor of Bushbuckridge, Milton Morema, should be suspended, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday. Morema is currently facing murder charges. DA local government spokesperson Anthony Benadie said the mayor should be suspended immediately, pending the outcome of investigations.
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille on Monday vowed to take her fight against the Erasmus commission to the Constitutional Court. The commission was set up by Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool in December 2007 to investigate the City of Cape Town’s probe into controversial councillor Badih Chaaban.
Cases of corruption in the public sector reported to the National Anti-Corruption Hotline increased by 46% between 2004 and 2007, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Sunday. DA spokesperson on public service Karel Minnie said this was according to a 2008 report released by the Public Service Commission.