'ALL BILL' COULD BE DA'S DO OR DIE MOMENT

THE DA’s Economic Inclusion for All Bill, introduced to replace the existing BEE policy, is one of the few, if not the only chance it has to truly test its influence in the Government of National Unity (GNU). 

The party has some serious work to do convincing other GNU  partners, the ANC in particular,  to do away with the BEE policy in its current form and  replace it with the All Bill, which aims to drop  race as a determining factor, and replace it with a needs-based approach.

Introducing such a bill is a worthless exercise without the support of the GNU partners. The ANC has already indicated that it has no desire to alter or drop the policy, which means the DA is just blowing hot air for now. 

ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu confirmed this. “What I want to stress is that there won’t be a day in South Africa where BEE is scrapped as legislation. Amendments are acceptable as long as they do not deviate from the substance of that legislation.”

Her remarks are of a party that still acts as the majority government. Why not when  the ANC has been able to use the GNU to advance its own election manifestos including having the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act being signed into law. 

Despite its earlier protestations with some of the clauses in the Act, a DA minister is now tasked with fully implementing it. The DA in the Western Cape has hauled the government to court over the National Health Insurance (NHI).

The ANC-dominated Cabinet sent a DA minister packing when he tried withdrawing the SABC Bill.

So far the DA has only been in the GNU to help the ANC get on with its business. Its participation has yet to translate to any influence in policy direction. 

By introducing the All Bill, the party should be able to gauge how much power, if any,  it has in the coalition government. This will help it determine whether being part of the GNU is a worthwhile exercise if it's just there for ministerial perks.

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