‘Does the DA really get things done?’
The Democratic Alliance (DA), South Africa’s official opposition, is using a slogan that it “Gets Things Done” ahead of South Africa’s Local Government Elections on 1 November. But how true is this claim? Is it based on fact or fiction? Here, we analyse the previous work of the party to see whether this claim can be backed up with evidence.
The DA has governed the Western Cape since 2009. It is from their achievements in this province which a large proportion of their claims are made. The Western Cape has the lowest unemployment rate in South Africa at 29.1%, compared to a national average of 46.4%. Similar comparisons between the Western Cape and the national average, favouring the DA-run province, were presented for household access to basic free water (43.5% vs. 21.8%), electricity (27% vs. 16.7%), and sewage services (47.9% vs. 18.7).
These figures set the DA off to a good start to back up their claim that they “get things done”. The figures are also damning for DA Leader, John Steenhuisen’s political opponents: the Western Cape offers its population the best quality of life in the country, with reliable access to basic services. Furthermore, the superior employment prospects of the area suggest that this prosperity is sustainable, and likely only going to increase.
This sustainability was highlighted by the municipal financial sustainability index (MFSI) published by Ratings Afrika earlier this year. Within the index, the Western Cape scored highest amongst all provinces, with an average score of 53 – in fact, the top five municipalities in the country all came from the Western Cape and all received a score over 70, demonstrating a strong financial stability within the region. The Eastern Cape, meanwhile, scored just 25.
However, it is not only in the Western Cape that the DA is delivering prosperity and sustainability for its population. The municipality of Midvaal, in Gauteng, has had a DA majority for 19 years, and clearly exhibits the fruits of uninterrupted DA leadership: it has the lowest unemployment rate within the province (which is governed by the ANC).
Furthermore, before Midvaal came under the jurisdiction of DA mayor Bongani Baloyi in 2013 it was ranked as the 16th best-run municipality in the country, Today, it sits 6th, right behind the Western Cape top five with an MFSI of 70. It has also received seven consecutive clean audits within the past nine years. The case of Midvaal demonstrates that it is not only in their stronghold of the Western Cape that the DA are more than capable of getting things done for citizens.
Clearly, recent numbers are overwhelmingly positive for the DA on most metrics of efficacious leadership and quality of life, especially when looking at comparisons between the Western Cape and ANC led provinces. But why is this the case?
A recent campaign video from the DA provides some insight into the difference in priorities between the two parties: under ANC leadership, government money has been channelled towards defence and large-scale developments, not to mention the many allegations of state capture, estimated to have cost South African people R500 billion over the past 27 years.
The DA, by contrast, has prioritised service delivery, often going beyond what might be expected. For example, the Western Cape added an additional 1100 law enforcement officers beyond government mandated numbers to the most high-risk areas of the Western Cape. According to David Maynier, Western Cape Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, the DA also set aside R8.6 million to “strengthen the forensic investigation capacity of the local government department”. In other words, to combat corruption.
Herein lies the difference between the two parties, and the explanation for the disparity between the Eastern and Western Capes: where the ANC has not delivered, the DA has delivered services that have enabled the economy, subsequently increasing the prospects of the poorest citizens of its municipalities. The DA does appear to ‘get things done’.
Photo: Flickr