The DA says the SA economy is in the intensive care unit and “decisive action” is needed from the government of national unity (GNU).
DA leader John Steenhuisen said on Monday the key was to prioritise the economy not hold another “talk shop” like the national dialogue, which is expected to happen later this week.
“It is a national monologue, the president believes the ANC is still in power and has come down from the mountain with a tablet of policies which he is trying to shove down the throats of all of us. That is not how a coalition government works, it all has to negotiated,” Steenhuisen said at a media briefing in Johannesburg.
Nothing had materialised out of the long process that resulted in the national development plan and the national dialogue would be no different, he said.
“The fact that others are now withdrawing from the national dialogue shows that it is an illegitimate talk shop. South Africans do not need more dialogue. They need real delivery... it is time for urgent action. We must create economic growth and jobs,” he said.
Legacy foundations have indicated that they will not participate in the national dialogue and in the work of the preparatory task team. These are the Steve Biko Foundation, Thabo Mbeki Foundation, Chief Albert Luthuli Foundation, Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, FW de Klerk Foundation, Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Foundation and the Strategic Dialogue Group.
Steenhuisen said scrapping BEE and the state aggressively confronting corruption would be the easiest way to open up and grow the economy.
“This DA plan to turbocharge the economy and create jobs is simple. At the core of the plan is to dismantle three major legislative barriers to growth: the Broad-based BEE Act, the Employment Equity Act and the Expropriation Act.
“While intended to advance transformation, these laws have increasingly served to entrench elite enrichment, deter investment and block small businesses from accessing opportunities,” he said.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has already said his party would not be coerced into reversing its “progressive” transformation laws.
Steenhuisen insisted the DA was not against economic redress in totality. “It is now time for the majority of South Africans to taste the freedom of a new democracy through a job, and not jobs and tenders only for the political elite.”
Addressing parliament earlier this year on this issue, President Cyril Ramaphosa clarified the GNU’s stance on BEE.
“Our commitment to BEE as expressed through various policy documents and statements remains steadfast,” he said.
“At a broader level, through the statement of intent [of the GNU] as well as the medium-term development plan, the GNU is committed to translate the values of the constitution into practice with a focus on the achievement of social justice, redress and equity,” Ramaphosa said.
He added that it would be unconstitutional if the privileged class tried to fight back against economic redress.
At Monday’s media briefing, DA finance spokesperson Mark Burke said more than 30 years into democracy BEE and employment equity “are clearly not working and the data speaks for itself”.
“Quotas do not work. We don’t need legislation, we need to give people opportunities,” Burke said.
On Friday, ActionSA indicated that it would also reconsider its participation in the national dialogue in light of concerns raised by key stakeholders and organisers, “as well as the discontent expressed by South Africans who see this as yet another round of endless talk shops while urgent action remains absent”.
“Central to our reconsideration is the fact we are not prepared to lend credibility to what many already believe to be a window-dressing exercise that risks becoming a government directed platform, as several respected legacy foundations have suggested,” ActionSA’s Athol Trollip said.
South Africans were saddled “with a crumbling process with diminishing credibility”, Trollip said.
Update: August 11 2025
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