Pretoria - The Democratic Alliance is preparing for a DA-led national coalition government to take over from a "broken" African National Congress after the 2019 elections, DA leader Mmusi Maimane said on Sunday.
Speaking to journalists in Pretoria after the DA's three-day federal council meeting he said the “Road to 2019” was now well and truly underway. According to the DA's polling the ANC remained around the 50 percent mark nationally and faced the possibility of electoral defeat in the 2019 national elections.
To prepare for national government, the DA had officially begun the process of crafting a new fleet of policy offers aimed at creating jobs and opportunity – especially for the youth, cutting corruption, and ultimately restoring hope for South Africa and its people, he said.
Two policy documents integral to the DA's vision for South Africa were tabled for discussion at this weekend’s federal council – one on fighting corruption, and the other on what was termed “the opportunity ladder”, a cradle to career plan which intersected social development, basic education, higher education, and small business development.
"At the centre of these policy ideas, is a concrete plan to put an end to the cancer of corruption in government and to ensure that we create opportunity and jobs for the millions of South Africans currently without hope," Maimane said.
Among the key features of these policy discussion documents were doubling the child support grant to cover the nutritional needs of all poor children; introducing a jobseekers allowance for all unemployed young people; introducing a voluntary national civilian service year for matriculants to enter into work-based training in the community healthcare, basic education, or police fields; and establishing an independent, effective and highly specialised, prosecution-driven anti-corruption unit to combat corruption – similar to the disbanded Scorpions.
"Our country is approaching the most significant election since the dawn of democracy. 2019 will define whether South Africa can turn around our present decline and grow to be the prosperous modern democracy that we envisage."
"We know what many voters are realising day-by-day the ANC cannot self-correct and we are determined that the 2019 election will see the end of the ANC’s occupation of the Union Buildings."
"It is no secret that the ANC is currently at war with itself and is imploding with each passing day. Different factions are taking legal action against one another in at least three provinces across the country. From chair throws to bloody noses, the ANC is broken," he said.
The federal council also considered and deliberated on the existing coalitions and working partnerships with other political parties which were vital to the performance and functioning of DA-led cities across the country.
"We are pleased to report back that our coalitions and partnerships are stable and functional, and are unequivocally committed to serving the communities that elected us. As I’ve said before, coalitions are a lot like marriage. They are far from perfect, take a lot of hard work, and often hit stumbling blocks due to miscommunication.
"But they are vital in bringing about change and removing the ANC from governance across the country. As such, we continue to work with our partners across the board to ensure that the project of a post-ANC South Africa that works for all continues to succeed," Maimane said.