'I am not sure why I must vote for the DA yet again'

11 December 2018 12:04 PM

With the 2019 elections close approaching, has the official opposition had a good 2018?

What impact has the second largest party had on South Africans politically?

Show host Eusebius Mckaiser has a heated engagement with Business Day and Sunday Times columnist Peter Bruce and Chief Whip of the DA John Steenhuisen on the politics of the DA and whether 2018 has been a success for the party.

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The discussion ranged from the DA's policies on race, the economy, and land reform.

Bruce says the DA would normally be his choice of a political home, however, the party started doing things that irritated him.

The more that you dig into them, the more opaque everything becomes. The year started with the Hellen Zille's Singapore tweets. I think that the party handled that poorly, she handled it badly and I was disappointed.
— Peter Bruce, Sunday Times and business columnist

Bruce believes if South Africa went to the polls today, he wouldn't vote for the DA. Steenhuisen believes the party has a lot with which it is grappling.

How do we ensure that empowerment of individuals who are excluded and left out? And is race still a proxy for those disadvantaged in South Africa? And we have different opinions on that within the party.
— John Steenhuisen, DA Chief Whip

There are those that believe that race is still a proxy and then there are those that believe we should move past race as race-based policies have not delivered as black households have gotten poorer over the course of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE).
— John Steenhuisen, DA Chief Whip

57-year-old caller Phillip had a strong opinion.

In one sense I agree with Peter Bruce. I am not sure why I must vote for the DA yet again, because their policies are totally uninspiring. On the other hand, why should I vote for Cyril Ramaphosa who has gone for the expropriation of land without compensation which is absolute nonsense? There is a sense of despair in the country, there is no one to vote for.
— Phillip, caller

Koketso, another caller, said she wasn't impressed with the way the DA dealt with the matter surrounding Patricia de Lille.