DA committed to non-racialism, says new leader

When John Steenhuisen took up the mantle as leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) on 1 November, he did it with the belief that South Africa “is in serious trouble, and the stakes have never been higher,” as quoted from his acceptance speech.

According to Steenhuisen, democracy is at risk because people now feel further and further away from where the power lies.

“Over the past quarter of a century, you have been robbed of your destiny, your dreams held hostage to bureaucrats and central planners,” he said.

He ascribed every problem South Africans encounter in their daily lives to the state, which is, he said, “utterly incapable and corrupt, yet absolutely hell-bent on telling you what to do.”

According to Steenhuisen, the DA wants to give power back to the people.

He admitted that the DA too had made mistakes and vowed to rectify these by returning to the party’s core principles.

“We are a liberal party committed to non-racialism, a market economy, and a capable state that empowers citizens and cares for the vulnerable,” Steenhuisen said.

The resolution of non-racialism is one that is attracting fierce criticism from commentators and analysts.

But Steenhuisen was adamant that the party would achieve its best results by standing by these principles. “We are ready to show South Africa that another way is possible,” he said.

He invited every South African on a journey “to where power lies with the people, not with the corrupt and incapable state.”

Some political analysts, however, say this is not the beginning of a new party, but a sign of the further decline of the DA.

It has even been claimed in some quarters that the party is now one for minorities, quoting Helen Zille’s stance against farm murders as motivation for this statement.

Izak du Plessis asked the federal chairman of the DA, Ivan Meyer, to explain what is meant by the resolution to embrace non-racialism.

Watch the video to hear what he had to say: