The DA has made a “mindset shift” and conceded it can no longer make strident criticisms of ANC policy without offering practical and implementable solutions of its own.
This is according to Mathew Cuthbert, the blue party’s head of policy, who on Friday told the Sunday Times there was now a realisation in the party that it couldn’t just continue slamming the ANC, since the DA is now part of the government, under the auspices of the government of national unity (GNU).
The DA this weekend held its national congress at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, where new leaders were elected and policy resolutions adopted.
It is important that the party no longer simply stands on the sidelines and criticises what the ANC is doing, but rather comes out itself with a bold alternative that will convince voters to vote for it
— Mathew Cuthbert, DA head of policy
“It’s really important for us to understand that we are moving away from being a party of opposition to one of national government. It is important that the party no longer simply stands on the sidelines and criticises what the ANC is doing, but rather comes out itself with a bold alternative that will convince voters to vote for it.
“We need to make sure [our policies are] evidence-based and credible, so that when we go into government we can implement them.
“So it’s a shift in mindset for the party — based on the understanding that we are not a small opposition party any more. We are positioning ourselves to be the largest party in 2029, and that requires us to have more in-house capacity in terms of policy formulation.”
Cuthbert also explained why the 22 policy proposals debated by the DA’s more than 2,000 delegates focused very little on the economy — a longstanding policy focus for the DA.
He said that, this time around, since the DA was now part of the GNU, the feeling in the higher echelons of the party was that most of its economic policy proposals were already being implemented by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration.
“We have a very clear perspective as a party in terms of where we stand on economic policy, and what it is that we want to implement at the GNU level, as well as how we need to take those policies into government action.
“On the BEE front, we have been driving this issue in parliament over the past six months, and we have managed to get a concession out of the ANC in that they have said they will review BEE policy. So we are very vocal in the economic policy space, and a large number of debates have been held over the last three years, and we’ve settled a lot of positions.
“We have made good progress in the GNU on the economic front. If you look at the fiscal route to cap the amount of debt, to make sure we live within our means as an economy, I think that is reform that has been driven hard by the DA in the GNU, and it’s something that has been put on the table by the minister of finance. If you look at the spending reviews and the issue of ghost employees — those are issues the DA put on the table. You can also look at inflation targeting and the work we have done there. We have also been pushing for a number of concessions in transport, logistics and energy.”
In light of the above engagements and successes, from a policy perspective the DA federal congress was focused more on socio-economic issues and its own internal arrangements.
The once mainly white party rooted in classical liberalism now wants to improve its relationship with traditional leadership institutions.
The party on Saturday adopted a resolution to set up a special committee, to be located in the office of the incoming chair of the DA federal council, to drive a project aimed at improving relations with traditional leaders.
This initiative forms part of the DA’s support growth strategy.
“Of the engagements we have conducted with traditional leaders, the sentiment was overwhelmingly positive. The DA is respected as an effective issue driver, and the DA’s track record in government stands out.
“As such, our stakeholders believe that if the DA can take up many of the issues and concerns that affect the traditional leadership sector, it would make a difference,” reads the resolution.
“They [have] indicated that they have lost faith in the ruling party. Our engagements [have] centred mostly [on] service-delivery challenges and the lack of development for rural communities, including poorly managed and unresolved traditional leadership succession processes.”
The DA also wants the government to adopt policies to clamp down on online gambling and ramp up student funding by expanding the Nsfas funding thresholds, arguing they have been eroded by the rising cost of living.
The DA congress rejected a proposal for the introduction of civic education at primary schools, on the basis that doing so would “politicise” the basic education system.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.