DA united by values, not identity politics

Aubrey Matshiqi’s misaligned musings on the DA and its leader, Mmusi Maimane, (Ill-prepared DA finds itself in a whole new ball game, March 20) reveals so much of what is wrong with politics.

His broadside comes in the form of four problems he claims the DA faces: Cyril Ramaphosa, who may cause a “yearning for Zuma”; internal dynamics; Maimane; and the “challenge of managing the EFF”.

Political commentators are so used to a governing party that puts its own interests ahead of SA’s that they have come to expect this from all parties. And yet the DA always strives to put SA’s interest ahead of its own.

Ramaphosa is a problem to the DA only to the extent that he proves to be a problem to SA.

It is not enough just to cut corruption. SA needs to boost economic growth to a level that makes rapid inroads into poverty and unemployment.

Ramaphosa is unlikely to achieve this because he is fundamentally an ANC man and the ANC is fundamentally stuck in liberation movement mode, committed to policies that deter investment and job creation.

From the Mining Charter, which is killing mining, and overregulation of small businesses to land expropriation without compensation and a bloated public sector, Ramaphosa’s ANC is coding unemployment and poverty into SA’s genes.

The DA’s core electoral strategy has not changed with the election of Ramaphosa. It is to unite South Africans around shared values rather than shared identities. The party wants to work with any people or parties who share its commitment to the Constitution and the rule of law, nonracialism, job-creating growth in a market-driven economy, and to building a capable state with zero tolerance of corruption.

No matter what other differences there are, if South Africans share those values they can work together to build a brighter future for SA. This is exactly what the DA is doing in the new metros it governs.

The DA has grown in every democratic election as more people are attracted by its values and its solid track record.

“Internal dynamics” are partly a function of this rapid growth. The test of a growing party is not whether it has internal dynamics, but how it handles these. The DA’s recent provincial congresses are proof that internal contestation takes place transparently and cordially, the party unites behind the elected leadership and gets on with it.

The national congress in April will be no different. No Nasrec-style behind-closeddoors dirty deal-making for it.

Maimane is the ideal young leader to build a future government. He understands the damage identity politics has already done to this country and is committed to a different path for SA. He seeks to unite, not divide, because he knows that ultimately South Africans are better together.

He is committed to nonracialism, constitutionalism and the plight of the most vulnerable members of society. His fight is for the poor and unemployed. He rejects champagne socialists who call for economywrecking populist policies from the comfort of their offices in Parliament. He understands what it takes to grow the economy and create jobs.

Maimane stands in direct contrast to EFF leader Julius Malema, who champions policies that would destroy the economy. Malema seeks to build support on the basis of race and hatred and has no respect for the rule of law.

To Malema the poor are just pawns in his political chess game. He is willing to remove the DA-led coalition in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro, just “because the mayor of PE is a white man”. Mayor Athol Trollip’s diverse team has worked incredibly hard there to deliver material improvements to the lives of residents, who suffered years of neglect under the ANC administration pre2016. But this must be sacrificed to “cut the throat of whiteness”.

Maimane knows the only way to win the long game is to remain true to principles. Under his leadership, the DA has shown its commitment to clean, capable government. If the EFF is successful in returning the Nelson Mandela Bay metro to the corrupt ANC, the DA is prepared to walk away, knowing it did its best for residents.

It is not for the DA to manage the EFF. That is the job of voters. The DA’s job is to offer voters an alternative government of the future — and that is exactly what it is doing, under Maimane’s steadfast leadership.

MAIMANE UNDERSTANDS THE DAMAGE IDENTITY POLITICS HAS DONE TO THIS COUNTRY AND IS COMMITTED TO A DIFFERENT PATH FOR SA