Helen Zille. | Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers
The DA’s federal council chairperson Helen Zille said the party is not about getting positions but would like to implement its manifesto promises. Zille said this in an interview with Carte Blanche.
However, in a recently leaked letter written by her to the ANC’s secretary-general Fikile Mbalula she informed him that positions her party should hold in the government of national unity must include the post of deputy president and 12 ministerial positions.
In the letter, it stated that the deputy presidency position could be given up by her party if it is replaced by a minister in the presidency, who is also designated as the leader of Government business and participates fully in the policy development and monitoring responsibilities of the presidency – a deputy minister of finance, who participates fully in the development of the budget.
Yet in her interview, she said: “We would like positions in which we can implement our manifesto promises and we would like to make a difference to the people on the ground.”
Moreover, when asked if it was the DA’s strategy to have executive positions across the board, Zille said they could rectify a lot of ministries and some could take longer.
She also said it had taken 30 years to destroy many entities and it would not be able to be rectified in three years.
Zille added that they need to get the right people in the correct positions and get budgets allocated for critical things they need in their governance plan, “We need to implement them without any corruption and good performance management,” said Zille.
She further said the party believes that there should be laws binding coalition agreements.
“There shouldn’t be many votes of no confidence in a single term, there has got to be a reason to have a vote of no confidence,” she said.
Zille said the laws binding the coalition agreements would stabilise it.
Independent on Saturday