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DA backs white interests

The re-launch of the DA at Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg on Saturday was nothing but an endorsement of white minority interests.

The re-launch of the DA at Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg on Saturday was nothing but an endorsement of white minority interests.

DA leader Helen Zille, pictured, made no mention of the issues central to the people she aspires to lure into her party, that is, enforcing empowerment policies to benefit previously disadvantaged communities and speeding up land reform.

Unlike progressive political parties such as the Independent Democrats, DA politics are limited to opposing the ANC, in the hope that those fed up with the ruling party's ineffectiveness in service delivery will jump ship and join it.

While it was pleasant to watch people of all races attend, the re-launch centred around peripheral issues that have no bearing for most of those who attended. The DA wants to deal with the things that are not that important, in the context of bettering every one's life, like crime.

Its failure to engage the two critical issues is indicative of a party that is in denial of reality and does not bode well with the intentions behind re-launching. Vote us in and we will not address your pressing issues though, it seemed to be saying.

This approach is no different to the ANC posing for cameras whenever a piece of land or leaking houses are given to our people.

An RDP house and running water are not enough. Poor people need to be empowered beyond that.

On Saturday, the DA changed its appearance and launched itself as a party for all. This calculated move was in part a result of the unstable political climate South Africa finds itself in, and not that the DA wants change or will change. Zille has been at the helm for some time now, why only change now?

The DA failed to make Joseph Seremane its president and yet hopes to garner black support. What an irony. This only proves that black and coloured people are only used as voting fodder.

Jacques Julies, Randfontein

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