DA federal chairperson Helen Zille has made a startling admission, revealing that her party prioritised business over the people’s interests.
Speaking at the SA Chamber of Commerce UK, Zille confessed that the DA was instructed by the business community to protect President Cyril Ramaphosa from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and uMkhonto weSizwe (MKP).
“We were told to prop up Cyril Ramaphosa and shield him from the EFF and MK,” Zille said, sparking controversy.
According to Zille, Julius Malema’s EFF and Jacob Zuma’s MKP were not suitable for South Africa because large investors would leave the country.
The MKP gave the DA a run for their money after securing staggering successes in the elections, making them the third-largest growing party in the country.
The DA said this was a disaster and this would cause people, particularly the business community, to lose interest and somehow take their business elsewhere.
Most of this was said before and after the May 29 elections which saw the ANC lose its outright majority, forcing it to form a coalition government.
This revelation has fuelled criticism that the DA is more interested in serving business interests than the needs of South Africans. The party’s involvement in the Government of National Unity (GNU) has already raised eyebrows, with some labelling it a “sellout” move.
Critics argue that the DA’s alignment with business interests undermines the party’s commitment to the people, particularly black South Africans.
ANC allies, including the National Education, Health, and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), have condemned the GNU.
The SA Community Party’s general secretary Solly Mapaila has also expressed dissatisfaction with the DA’s involvement in the GNU, stating that the party is not invested in developing the black community.
Mapaila told the ANC that they were not happy with the negotiations involving the DA, saying the DA was not for black people and would never develop the black community.
Zille’s admission has reignited debates about the DA’s true motives and role in the GNU.
Political analyst Sandile Swana agreed with Zille that the GNU was indeed run by private business, however, disagreed that the MKP and the EFF would run the country down if they were part of the GNU.
“The only time that the South African companies stopped investing aggressively in SA was just before Covid-19 where they decided to pay out more dividends to their shareholders and to invest outside of the country.
“Zuma never made them run away outside SA. They ran away under Cyril Ramaphosa. So this idea of creating a phobia around Zuma is wrong because in reality they stopped investing under Ramaphosa,” Swana said.
He added: “On the 28th of May 2024, Business Leadership SA (BLSA) issued a statement which is readily available that they would not continue to support the ANC in power if the ANC partners with MKP and the EFF and they demanded that the coalition become of the DA and the ANC, and to exclude specifically the EFF and the MKP.
“So no matter what kind of offers were made to the EFF and the MKP during the negotiations, that was just dangling a carrot that they were never going to get. Because white monopoly capital in SA had publicly declared that they should not be included in any power-sharing agreement in SA which is why today we don’t have a GNU but have a grand coalition between the DA, BLSA, and the ANC,” Swana said.
He said Zille admitting it on an international platform was commendable.
“Her honesty is commendable and she must be encouraged to continue to do that,” Swana said.
Associate professor attached to the North-West University, Dr John Molepo, said SA needed to go back to the drawing board to ascertain what was needed.
“Such utterances (by Zille) inform that the ANC on superficial values are pushing the GNU. But in principle, this is not what they wanted and it can be seen among its members that they are not happy with this particular arrangement.
“This brings up a very important aspect as South Africans; are we really happy with what is happening given the 100 days that have lapsed; are we indeed going to say that this is what we want to see happening in SA?
“So from where we are seated, perhaps it’s an opportune moment for all of us to go back to the drawing board and discuss the SA that we want,” Molepo said.
Attempts to get comment from the EFF and MKP were unsuccessful at the time of print.
The Star