The DA’s Abel Tau, John Moody, Randall Williams and John Steenhuisen during a press conference on the political situation in the city of Tshwane. Photo: Jacques Naude/African News Agency(ANA)
The DA’s Abel Tau, John Moody, Randall Williams and John Steenhuisen during a press conference on the political situation in the city of Tshwane. Photo: Jacques Naude/African News Agency(ANA)
Despite being on the same page as the government throughout this global health crisis, DA leader John Steenhuisen has expressed his party’s firm opposition to the extension of South Africa’s lockdown. It was announced on Thursday evening that Cyril Ramaphosa was keeping us at home until Friday 1 May.
Moving on from the “all in it together” camaraderie we’ve seen from all elected political parties in South Africa, the DA is beginning to splinter from the government. Frustrated by what they see as a ‘lack of accountability’, Steenhuisen has complained that there have been no remote meetings of Parliament since lockdown began.
The opposition leader labelled the decision ‘a mistake’ on Ramaphosa’s part. Although the ANC received the backing of the FF Plus and the EFF last night, the same cannot be said for the DA. According to John Steenhuisen, the economic nosedive also has a high potential of killing South Africans directly:
“We’d prefer a gradual phasing out of lockdown over the coming weeks, as opposed to a continuation of the severe and economically-crippling regulations we currently see. Our concern is that President Ramaphosa has justified this extension as if we face a binary choice between health concerns and economic concerns.”
“Each death resulting from the virus is a tragedy. But so is each death resulting from caged citizens and frustrated law enforcers, and each malnourished child, and each newly unemployed South African. Lives are threatened by our economic and financial collapse as a result of further lockdown regulations.”
John Steenhuisen
Steenhuisen made a list of the changes he wants to see over the next two weeks: