MAT CUTHBERT: DA learns its lessons from history

In almost ritualistic fashion Peter Bruce has used his column yet again to bleat about the DA’s recommitment to nonracialism and our economic policies

Regardless of what the DA does, we will never find a satisfied customer in Bruce. We could produce a comprehensive new economic policy, talk about economic growth and job creation continuously in the run-up to and after the budget debacle, and even solve world hunger. Yet he would still find a reason to claim we have not lived up to his impeccably high standards.

We learn lessons from our history. Between 2014 and 2019 the DA sought to fast-forward racial transformation in its ranks (from people to policy). Six years ago we re-assessed and resolved to recommit to nonracialism. I maintain that the DA made the right decision to ditch a populist driven approach in favour of an evidence-based one. I hold this view for several reasons.

Before 2019, the DA had become an ideologically rudderless organisation that adopted populist positions on policy issues that did not align with our core liberal philosophy. One need only cast one’s mind back to the frequent flip-flopping on the ANC’s BEE and employment equity policies, premised on the argument that if we were in government we would implement these policies “better”.

Despite having a black leader, adopting populist policy positions and making significant efforts to attract black voters, our share of the national vote declined for the first time in our history. So much for the widespread appeal this approach was intended to generate. Our former leader, Mmusi Maimane, went on to establish his own party with the same ideological drift, which delivered a meagre two seats in the National Assembly.

Most importantly, the evidence, starting in the 1990s, shows that BEE failed to grow the economy or promote economic inclusivity. In fact, it did the exact opposite. Its detrimental contributions to the economy include 35.8% unemployment rate among black South Africans (compared to a national average of 31.9%), investment stagnation and the unenviable title of the most unequal country in the world.

A few weeks ago, William Gumede stated in a Sunday Times column that “BEE should be ditched” because it had increased poverty and inequality. According to “conservative” calculations, he said, “R1-trillion has been moved between under 100 people since 1994. The same people have been empowered and re-empowered over and over.”

He further argued that to achieve broad-based empowerment, the country needed to focus on “supporting real entrepreneurs, creating new industries and developing products fostering export-led growth”. These same ideas were communicated ad nauseam by the DA in the lead-up to last year’s election and since the inception of the government of national unity. Yet Bruce chooses not to notice.

Coupled with our broader economic policy, the DA has illustrated how advancing the UN sustainable development goals can be used as an alternative guide for government procurement and corporate social responsibility investment.

By relying on tangible metrics such as contributions towards no poverty, decent work, economic growth and reduced inequality, we seek to uplift the disadvantaged (the majority of whom happen to be black). This cuts out politically connected cadres who benefit from crude race-based policies and instead empowers those who are most in need.

The “straw man” argument employed by Bruce aims merely to caricature the DA’s economic justice policy while providing no meaningful engagement with the policy itself. We do not deny the enduring legacy of race-based discrimination in our society. However, we reject the idea that race-based policy is the only, or even best, way to address structural inequality.

As for the argument that the DA needs race-based policies to be electorally successful, a recent Ipsos poll showed that only 46% of black South Africans thought BEE should continue. Furthermore, 67% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the ownership of a tendering company mattered less than service delivery. Therefore, one could reasonably deduce that the colour of one’s skin does not play as significant a role in public policy choices as Bruce argues it does.

The choice is clear: we can either remain trapped in the race-obsessed mentality of 1652, or we can fight for a new, nonracial policy agenda that uplifts the disadvantaged, creates growth and jobs and ensures prosperity for all South Africans.

• Cuthbert is an MP and DA head of policy.