Geordin Hill-Lewis has a cute enough argument, but it jars frightfully with reality. (“Beyond left and right in politics”, March 19).
I guess those intent on voting for the DA will just have to take his word that the DA is accomplishing great things “behind the scenes” in the government of national unity. For the rest of us who prefer to buy results, things don’t look great for the DA at national level, especially those of us who like private property, want to choose the language of instruction of our kids and would like to have jobs regardless of the colour of our skins.
Which brings us to the nub of the matter. The DA’s model is wrong. South Africa cannot continue with a so-called “progressive” approach (DA wording) to funding public administration. A couple of million taxpayers (and even more importantly) ratepayers cannot solve for 60-million people.
Even in Cape Town, where the DA has more high-end tax- and rate-payers than anywhere else in the country, the system is collapsing. Lower middle-income Cape Town residents can no longer afford to stay in their homes as they become cash cows for state failure.
If it’s not working in Cape Town, how is it going to work in Pofadder, Blikkiesdorp or Qumbu, which at the last count boasted about 10 formal tax- and ratepayers between them? That’s a fake statistic, but you get the point. If the DA wants to impress potential voters (and keep its traditional base), it needs to wow them with plans for how the DA intends to square this payment trap. Numbers that work.
Simply telling its traditional support base that they will need to pay more so you can spend more on people who don’t pay won’t get the DA very far. It is also completely unsustainable. The maths simply doesn’t work.
Stuart Meyer
Via Business Day online
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