The Open Society: My response

From chapter one of the DA’s manifesto, pages nine and 10 of “21941 DA Manifesto Eng.pdf”

Only when the people of South Africa can vote freely for the public representatives of their choice, and demand that those who are elected put their personal interests aside and act only in the voters’ interests, will our democracy be truly open, free and accountable. Yet South Africa’s list-based electoral system, and the government’s reluctance to fully empower watchdog bodies, have left the people of our country with a system founded on patronage, where the needs of those without money and connections mean little. The DA’s governance policy aims to put power back where it belongs — in the hands of the voters and citizens.

>>> Who can argue with the above? (plus six points)

The electoral system: The closed list proportional representation system used to elect our national and provincial representatives is fair and inclusive, but voters have no say over who represents them. Voters should be able to elect their public representatives directly, and know who their MP or MPL is, without sacrificing the fairness of a proportional system. The DA, therefore, proposes a system that is a mixture of proportional representation and constituencies. 75% of national and provincial public representatives will be elected in 90 three-member constituencies, while 25% of national and provincial representatives will be appointed on the basis of a list system in direct proportion to their party’s share of the vote. In this way, the composition of Parliament will reflect the election result. This system ensures that most MPs are directly accountable to their voters, and the three-member constituencies allow voters to feel they have at least one representative who speaks and acts in their interests. At the same time, party lists ensure that the end result accurately reflects the electorate’s choices.

This is a daft plan as it will under-represent the urban voters. Who said that a PR system is fair? Let’s have either a PR system with stringent rules or a direct constituency MP/MPL/Dist Cllr/Lcl Cllr system that allows u to boot your representative at any time by a recall referendum please. This idea to carve the country into 90 territories is a step in the direction of dispensing with provinces … why? (minus 10 points)

Timing of national, provincial and local elections: Currently, elections in each sphere of government are held every five years. The DA will increase this period to six years, to give an administration enough time to achieve its goals while leaving voters with regular chances to remove those who fail. However, the DA will separate elections at the different spheres of government so that voters can properly consider the different national, provincial or municipal issues and candidates. An election at one of these levels will take place every two years, on a specific date that is fixed in legislation.

Aish, when Thabo asked for more time, the DA said no, no, no … so you’re just going to import the US system and say that’s OK … why? We should have an election day every month — and general elections already take place every two yrs … 1999 then 2000, 2004 then 2006, 2009 then 2011 … so what’s the problem? (minus six points)

An electoral threshold: The South African electoral system encourages a proliferation of very small parties that add very little value to Parliament. The DA will limit the emergence of marginal parties by requiring every party to attain a minimum of 1% electoral support before they can send representatives to Parliament, legislatures or municipal councils.

Complete balls. Change the registration requirements to 500 000 founders and R500 000 registration fee instead of 500 founders and R500 reg fee … the vast majority of small parties would disappear or be forced to develop from the ground up at a local government level — where registration is free and you only need 50 founders. (minus five points)

Election of the president, premiers and mayors: The existing system by which the president, premiers and mayors are elected (by other public representatives) takes power away from voters. The DA will give voters, not the party, the final say over who their leaders should be. Presidents, premiers and mayors will be elected directly using the “two-round” or “run-off” system. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote he or she is automatically elected to office. If no candidate receives a majority, the top two candidates run against each other, and the candidate that secures a majority in the second round is duly elected. These leaders will be required to abide by a strict two-term limit. The DA will ensure that no person who has been convicted on any charge of corruption, fraud, theft or violent crime will be permitted to hold public office

If this system was in place today — JZ would outpoll every other contender with no trouble at all … You honestly think that HZ is a bigger schleb than JZ — please… Mshini Wami — Mshini Wami … (plus one point)

Federalism and provincial and local government: South Africa’s provinces all too often merely clone centrally determined policies. This deprives South Africa of many of the benefits of a more federal system, including bringing government closer to the people and accommodating diversity. Therefore the DA will:

Reduce to a minimum the norms, standards and policies imposed on provincial and local governments by the national government.

Allow provinces to raise substantially more of their own revenue without increasing the overall tax burden, while guaranteeing them a share of the national revenue.

In provinces under our control, the DA will:

Pass provincial legislation, as provided for in the Constitution, to reflect the priorities and needs of those provinces.

Devolve more real power to competent local governments, but intervene quickly and decisively when these powers are misused.

As a citizen of the sovereign kingdom of KwaZulu-Natal — may I say thank you for recognising our right to self determination, we would like to advise you that we will be demanding a tax rebate of R100 000/annum for every KwaZulu citizen working outside of the kingdom; and that as of now the cost of the road toll (for vehicles registered outside of the kingdom) from Durban to Harrismith is R5 000 per axle. Also we will be launching our own currency, the EmaliZulu which shall be worth R5 at a fixed exchange rate. in addition South Africans wanting to visit our glorious kingdom will have to obtain visa at a cost of R25 000 per person per year. (plus five points)

Institutions supporting constitutional democracy: Chapter Nine of the Constitution creates various bodies to support constitutional democracy and open government, such as the public protector. These institutions must be robust defenders and vigorous promoters of the open society. But some have been plagued by problems of politicisation and nonperformance. The DA will strengthen them by requiring that:

Ministers play no role in making appointments.

Individuals who hold a high-level political post cannot be appointed to a Chapter Nine institution until one year has elapsed since they held that post.

A multiparty Parliamentary committee is established to protect the interests of the Chapter Nine Institutions and address their concerns.

Unless these Chapter Nine Organisation are increased in number and have the power to sit in session on a permanent basis and have oversight over Parliament and the executive and civil society and have the power to subpoena MPs and summon the president … don’t waste my tax money please (minus 10 points)