The leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), John Steenhuisen, has laid out a six-point plan to turn around South Africa’s struggling economy. His main focus is on ending what he calls “destructive” laws like the BEE Act, the Expropriation Act, and the Employment Equity Act, which he claims have caused economic stagnation.
Steenhuisen argues that decades of mismanagement by the ruling ANC have left South Africa’s economy in a poor state, with falling GDP per person and high unemployment. He says the country cannot afford to keep doing the same thing and must adopt a new approach. His plan involves pressuring the ANC to accept urgent reforms and dismantle the laws he believes are blocking growth.
He criticises BEE (Black Economic Empowerment), saying it has mostly benefited a small elite and led to corruption, with an estimated R1 trillion moved among fewer than 100 people since 1994. Research from various organisations supports his view that BEE has been costly and damaging to the economy, costing billions in lost growth and jobs. Instead of promoting broad-based economic progress, he says it has mainly enriched a few politically connected individuals.
Steenhuisen also criticises laws like the Expropriation Act and Employment Equity Act, which he claims are creating uncertainty for investors and undermining merit-based appointments. He argues that these policies are stopping South Africa from unleashing its true economic potential.
The DA’s solution is to replace BEE with a new, non-racial empowerment model based on international sustainable development goals. They want to focus on helping the poor, rather than race-based policies, and simplify business regulations to encourage entrepreneurship and investment. Their broader plan includes removing policies that kill jobs, supporting competition in power supply, fixing infrastructure, cutting government spending, and fighting corruption.
Steenhuisen announced that the DA will push for these reforms within the Government of National Unity (GNU), where the DA is the second-largest party. However, he admitted that the DA has often struggled to influence the government’s policies, citing examples like the signing of the Expropriation Act and other laws they opposed.
Despite internal and external pressure to leave the GNU coalition, the DA plans to continue advocating for change from within. Steenhuisen emphasised that urgent action is needed to create growth and jobs, and that the DA will keep fighting for these reforms in Parliament and beyond.