Go out and vote on Wednesday 22 April!
Every single registered voter who supports the DA must go out and vote in the election on Wednesday. Your vote is critical: it could be the vote that tips the scales. The mathematics are simple: the more DA voters turn out relative to ANC voters, the better our chances are of stopping Jacob Zuma from getting the two-thirds majority he needs to change the Constitution.
Voter turnout makes a huge difference to the election result in our proportional representation electoral system. One political analyst uses the analogy of a birthday party to explain the impact of turnout. On your birthday, you buy a cake and have a party for ten people. If everyone comes, each gets one tenth of the cake. If only five attend, each gets one fifth of the cake. This means that each of the five friends who come to the party gets a slice of cake double the size of what they would have got, because the other five stayed away. In the same way, all voters who vote in an election make up the 100% representational tally which is then divided up proportionately among parties. If DA voters stay away in higher numbers than ANC supporters, the effect is to increase the proportional power of the ANC vote. And vice-versa.
In previous elections, differential turn-out has benefited the ANC. This means that more ANC voters than opposition voters turned out to vote. And that proportionately boosted their tally.
Turnout will be decisive on Wednesday. Our own internal research shows that if every DA supporter goes to vote, and if more DA voters turn out relative to ANC voters, we will keep the ANC below a two-thirds majority nationally and we could even drive the ANC below 60%. In provinces like Gauteng and the Northern Cape, where the ANC's grip on power is weakest, if every DA voter turns out, we could win enough votes to be able to form coalition governments. In the Western Cape, if every DA voter turns out, we could win the province outright.
The ANC is power-hungry. It wants even more than a two-thirds majority. On Wednesday, in one of his stock fascist tirades, the imbecilic President of the ANC Youth League, Julius Malema, told students at the University of Cape Town to return the ANC to power with "a three-thirds majority". He was merely parroting ANC Secretary-General, Gwede Mantashe, who earlier in the election campaign said, "We don't want a two-thirds majority; we want a three-thirds majority in any province including the Western Cape".
Malema believes Zuma is "unstoppable". He referred to him as a "biological tsunami". That is untrue. If every DA supporter goes to the polls on 22 April, we can prevent the "biological tsunami" from wreaking devastation on South Africa.
Make no mistake: if the ANC gets a two-thirds majority with Zuma as President, the consequences will be serious. Mr Zuma has no understanding of constitutionalism, which is the bedrock of our democracy. He has often said that the ANC is more important than the Constitution, that opposition parties have no automatic right to exist, and that the powers of the Constitutional Court should be reviewed because judges are "not God". Zuma represents the kind of leaders that take governments down the path of cronyism, corruption and criminalisation, towards the failed state. The evidence is already there.
So far, the ruling clique in the ANC has disbanded the Scorpions; fired the former National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Vusi Pikoli; engineered the premature release from prison of Zuma's benefactor, Schabir Shaik; and pressured the acting NDPP, Mokotedi Mpshe, to drop the charges against Zuma. All these steps were taken to shield Zuma and his cronies.
This makes it clear that Zuma will stop at nothing to undermine the Constitution and the rule of law to enrich himself and his cabal, and protect them from prosecution.
Yesterday, the Cabinet announced that it had approved the draft Constitution 17th Amendment Bill, which empowers national government to usurp powers from local government. The Bill will now go to Parliament, and if the ANC gets a two-thirds majority on 22 April, it will force the Bill through Parliament. If it is enacted, the law will be used by the ANC to severely limit the mandate of an elected local government, especially where the ANC does not govern and where local authorities legitimately refuse to implement ANC policies. The Cabinet approval of the Bill came two days after ANC spokespersons categorically denied the existence of such a Bill.
A two-thirds majority will give the ANC the power to act on other threats. The ANC has already threatened to revoke property rights, undermine press freedom and make the courts an extension of the ANC - just as constitutional institutions such as the Public Protector and the National Prosecuting Authority have been turned into extensions of the ANC through cadre deployment.
Nationally, the DA is the only party that can be trusted to stop Zuma's clique from abusing its power to change the Constitution. But we are not only contesting this election nationally. We are contesting it in all nine provinces, too. There is an excellent chance that we will win the Western Cape, and also a possibility that we may be able to form coalition governments in one or two other provinces.
We must win power at provincial level, because this will enable us to demonstrate the difference that our alternative vision, principles and policies make in practice, for everyone -just as we have demonstrated where we have won at local government level. This is the most effective role we can play, not only where we govern, but for our country as a whole, as we undertake the process of national political realignment.
Winning power in the Western Cape, for example, will allow us to show what co-operative governance between local authorities and a province can achieve. Both spheres are closely inter-linked in many ways and we can attain exceptional outcomes if we all pull together, rather than in opposite directions.
Winning power provincially also means that we can take the next step in our political journey. That journey started in 2006 when the DA won the City of Cape Town and other local authorities in the Western Cape. Our journey will continue after 22 April, as we prepare to contest the 2011 local government elections, in which we will win cities and towns across South Africa. At the end of the final leg of our journey, we will form the core of national government in 2014.
Without your vote on Wednesday, we cannot continue this journey. We will not make the connection we need to reach our final destination. And if the ANC gets a two-thirds majority, it will throw every obstacle it can onto the track to derail us.
The most important election in Zimbabwe was not last year when the MDC won more votes than Mugabe's Zanu-PF, despite the election being blatantly rigged. It was in 2000, when the MDC narrowly lost to Zanu-PF by 1% of the vote. If every MDC supporter had gone out to vote in that election, Zimbabwe's catastrophic slide may have been halted. Today Zimbabwe might have been the prosperous nation it once was, instead of the failed state it has become.
That is the difference your vote makes. It is the difference between success and failure. This election will be a defining moment in South Africa's history. In fact, it is the most important election since 1994, because the choice we make will determine whether our country becomes a successful democracy, which is tantalisingly within our reach, or continues the downward spiral towards a failed state.
In a democracy, voters get the government they deserve. The future of South Africa lies in the hands of every individual voter this Wednesday. One vote can win it - or lose it. In ten years time it will be obvious to everyone that voting for the DA in this election was the right thing to do. By then it will be too late. So do it now.
Picture of Helen : www.da.org.za
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The Democratic Alliance believes that the war on crime can be won with the right programmes and policies in place. A holistic approach to dealing with crime is therefore critical. There needs to be a much greater emphasis on crime reduction plans which are fuelled by intelligence and evidence based policing.
The Democratic Alliance’s vision of an open, opportunity society for all will ensure that citizens are able to live safely and securely.
Sadly, most South Africans are living in fear of the criminal element. Crime is out of control because most criminals are confident that they will get away with it as conviction rates are low.
A functional justice system must be able to prevent crime, apprehend criminals, gather evidence, prosecute and convict successfully, secure them in prison and rehabilitate them.
This is essential in the Eastern Cape where we have a high rate of violent crime. According to the latest annual report of crime statistics, robbery at non residential premises increased by 102% and robbery at residential properties increased by 92%. Daily in the Eastern Cape there are 84 reported burglaries, 10 reported murders and 20 reported rapes. Factors that contribute to this high rate of violence are alcohol and drug abuse, lack of family structures, violence in the family and lack of community support.
These are some of the steps that the DA would take:
1. PREVENT CRIME BEFORE IT OCCURS
The Democratic Alliance will increase the number of SAPS officers to 250 000 nationally. High visibility police patrols play a major role in preventing crime. It follows that the SAPS must be adequately resourced with vehicles and equipment to make this possible. The Democratic Alliance in the Eastern Cape would also clamp down on drug related crimes (up 10%) as well as easy access to alcohol and illegal taverns as 90% of violent crimes are alcohol related. Dysfunctional families are also a contributing factor to crime and the Department of Social Development needs to develop adequate programmes to promote family life in the Eastern Cape. Only 7% of young offenders have a father figure in their homes. The high rate of violent crime is mostly committed by offenders under the age of 30. The DA would launch meaningful crime prevention and intervention programmes in Eastern Cape Schools to deter young adults from engaging in violent crime. The Democratic Alliance would also provide updated and accurate information on crime statistics. Such accurate information allows people to drive problem specific solutions at the local level.
2. DETECTING AND RESPONDING TO CRIME WHEN IT DOES OCCUR
The Democratic Alliance would increase the number of detectives by 30 000 across the country. Our current detectives have a huge caseload which makes it difficult to track down criminals. We would also bring back the SCORPIONS, not only to fight corruption, which is a major problem in the Eastern Cape, but also to deal with the criminal syndicates which are operating throughout this Province. We would also re-instate the specialised units such as the vehicle theft, anti hijacking, family violence, child abuse and sexual offences unit, narcotics bureau and serious and violent crime units. Fighting sophisticated criminals needs specialist investigators. Co-operation between the SAPS and private security companies needs to be improved. The DA would also introduce a prolific offender management programme which will target the 10% of criminals in the community that are responsible for 50% of all the crimes.
3. SUCCESSFULLY PROSECUTE AND CONVICT CRIMINALS
The DA will increase the number of public prosecutors by 500 nationally. The Court backlog which is in the region of 36 000 will be reduced by extending Court business hours by bringing in 24 hour courts and extending the working week to 6 days. Municipal Traffic Courts will take a lot of the burden off our Magistrate’s Court. The DA will also tighten up on bail and ensure that life sentences mean life.
4. INTERRING AND REHABILITATING THOSE CONVICTED
Prisons have become universities of crime because few constructive activities are provided for prisoners. It is no good imprisoning criminals when, upon their release, they simply return to a life of crime. The number of specialized personnel such as psychologists, educators and social workers who have access to prisoners, needs to be increased. In addition, we need to dramatically increase prisoners involvement in productive labour and community upliftment programmes so that they can gain skills that can be utilized outside the prison. The DA would ensure that all able bodied prisoners work and that income earned from this work, goes towards the upkeep of the criminal and to a Victims of Crime Fund.
COMPENSATION FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME
In an open opportunity society for all, victims rights should be at the heart of the criminal justice system. The DA will establish a statutory body called the Directorate of Victims of Crime which will administer a Victims of Crime Fund, establish a tollfree helpline for victims and run a national victims support training centre. In addition, a victims register will allow victims of violent and sexual offences to be kept informed, on a confidential basis, of any developments relating to the case of the offender – including for example notification if bail or parole is granted.
In conclusion, implementing international best practice in South Africa can turn the situation around. Our Streets, neighbourhoods and business districts can be safe and secure. Our Province can experience the real freedom that the DA’s open opportunity society for all offers.
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Saturday 14 March was national DA T-SHIRT day. Here the always able,willing and reliable team of our ward 39 branch.In the centre is councillor de Andrade surrounded by her constituents.
The PE Southwest Contituency was out in full force, starting with a worsrol braai at Kings Beach after which the whole group dispersed to various shopping centres within the constituency.
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