Letters

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance calls on the Minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi, to urgently address unacceptable poor services, resulting in long queues at South African border posts. In a Home Affairs parliamentary portfolio meeting on 7 March the DA reminded the Minister and Border Management Authority (BMA) that there are border posts other than Beitbridge and called for the urgent resolution of the issues, specifically those reported at the Eswatini post at Oshoek and …

Dear Editor The DA takes note of serious allegations made around the alleged cover-up of the escape of convicted rapist, Thabo Bester. These allegations were made by a Correctional Services official at the Mangaung Correctional Centre. Apparently, an inmate identified as Bester burned to death on the 3rd of May 2022. The inmate could however not be Bester as he allegedly escaped prior to 3 May with the assistance of Correctional Services officials. The inmate that burned to death had …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) has serious concerns about the decision of the Speaker’s Office in Tshwane to call a municipal council meeting to elect a mayor on the same day as a planned ANC march on Tshwane House. The meeting and the march are both scheduled for tomorrow at Tshwane House. The decision seems calculated to give political advantage to the ANC-EFF coalition ahead of the highly contested mayoral election. Violence, intimidation and criminality already pervades …

Dear Editor The DA in Tshwane disputes the decision by the IEC to declare 69 votes as invalid as spoilt ballots in the election of the Speaker during last night's council meeting. The voting intention of the 69 councillors was clear on the ballot and, by the IEC's own standards and literature on valid ballots (see here), should have been counted as valid. The IEC’s decision is therefore a flawed one. The DA is urgently obtaining legal advice on this matter. As soon as we are provided …

Dear Editor The DA in Tshwane notes the resignation of Dr Murunwa Makwarela as Tshwane City councillor and the ANC-EFF’s Executive Mayor. These last few days have been surreal and have left residents of Tshwane horrified, bemused, and justifiably confused. The departure from the scene of Dr Makwarela has been an undignified spectacle and an exhibition of the most brazen dishonesty that South Africans have come to expect from the ANC-EFF coalition of chaos and corruption. It is becoming …

Dear Editor Over the past months, the DA has exposed that Ministers and Deputy Ministers in President Cyril Ramaphosa's Cabinet are living like rockstars. These Cabinet cadres have even insulated themselves against the loadshedding crisis they caused – all using taxpayer money. Ministers who have run this country into the ground are living in 97 mansions in Cape Town and Pretoria, worth nearly R1 billion. The 624 support staff they employ have cost taxpayers nearly R2 billion over the past …

Dear Editor The DA in Tshwane welcomes the decision of the city manager of the City of Tshwane, Johann Mettler, to declare a vacancy for the seat held by the sole councillor for COPE, Dr Murunwa Makwarela. This follows Cllr Makwarela’s failure to produce evidence that he is not an unrehabilitated insolvent, and so ineligible to hold office as a councillor in terms of section 158(1) of the Constitution. Last week, shortly after Cllr Makwarela’s election as the ANC-EFF candidate for mayor …

Dear Editor The DA will keep fighting for the people of Tshwane, and for effective, clean, and corruption-free government. We always knew that coalitions would be difficult, and that unaccountable parties can be manipulated to help bring the ANC back to power. But we will not give up on coalitions where the DA and our partners have a majority, and this includes Tshwane. Yesterday seven councillors of the multi-party coalition in Tshwane betrayed their voters, and helped to install an …

Dear Editor The DA in Gauteng, whilst acknowledging the legitimate election of a new Executive Mayor in the City of Tshwane, condemns the underhanded dealings by which the ANC-EFF coalition of corruption and chaos recaptured control of the City. The DA has fought for South Africans from opposition benches before today. A DA opposition is an ANC-EFF government's worst nightmare. We will make the ANC-EFF coalition of chaos and corruption regret today's shameless politicking to achieve …

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) condemns the collapse of the ceiling of the Byron Place Home Affairs office in Pretoria which has resulted in injury and shut down the SmartID section until further notice. From a DA oversight visit this morning (see here) to assess the damage, it is clear that maintenance issues are reported time and again, including issues with the sewerage that cause overflows, rat infestations and poor ventilation. It is a completely unacceptable environment for …