In the last Insight, among the important developments of the past few weeks I mentioned the election of Lindiwe Mazibuko as parliamentary leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA). This was an event which dominated the media for much of October. Most South Africans will know this, but for the information of our international recipients Helen Zille – the country’s political wonder-woman – is the DA’s national leader but has chosen to remain Premier of the Western Cape – the only province the DA controls; and Athol Trollip was the DA’s parliamentary leader. Lindiwe Mazibuko is a black DA Member of Parliament who chose to challenge Trollip, an established politician and a white male in his late 40s. Mazibuko, although she featured prominently in the 2009 local government elections, is relatively new to politics and at 31 enviously young. Mazibuko won the contest with a handy majority.

As one of the original founders of the Democratic Party (DP), which subsequently became the Democratic Alliance, I welcome her election. It is in line with the DA’s performance in the recent local government election of May this year. Although local, the actual contest was at a national level with national leadership dominating the campaigning and the publicity surrounding the election. For this reason, the outcome was so much more significant. In the result 1 out of 4 voters supported the DA, which increased its overall poll from 12.37% to 24% - a growth of 94%.

What is important about the DA’s performance in those elections is that it introduced a new interest in politics – because a different political future from that dictated by the ANC has become possible. Lindiwe Mazibuko’s election as the DA’s parliamentary leader reinforces that trend. It also opens up for the DA some very positive and creative opportunities which, one hopes, the party will give thought to in the weeks ahead and before the opening of the 2012 parliamentary session on 6 February. And here I have some advice based on personal experience.

Timothy Hughes in his UCT dissertation Political Liberalism in South Africa in the 1980s and the Formation of the Democratic Party says of the Independent Party (IP), a party I was very instrumental in establishing, that “Its avowed character was one of a non-racial party of realists and pragmatists committed to bringing about a process of genuine and open-ended negotiation leading to a new South African Constitution.” He goes on to say that the IP “developed an identity and clarity of purpose unmatched by any previous moderate or liberal party.” And he reports that the IP, without any parliamentary representation, according to all the polls very quickly had more supporters than the PFP and parties on the same spot on the political spectrum. But the point I want to make is that this was because of the simplicity of the IP’s political message. The IP affirmed three clear and cardinal principles which, to quote Tim Hughes, “served to anchor all its policies and to which its national leadership could refer to on any given question. These were: non-racial, democratic, free market.” I remember this commitment to keep the party’s message simple and drive it home on every occasion because at the end of every speech any one of us made we were roasted by Keith Gurney, the IP’s policy and research guru, for straying beyond these ideas.

Against this background, my advice to the Democratic Alliance is accordingly to keep its message simple by making the focal point of its party programme the following four issues:

1. Accountable and clean governance. I say “governance” because the concern should not only be with corruption in public authorities but also in the private sector. (In fact, the DA might even consider setting up a Clean Governance Bureau to investigate individual and SME expressions of concern at instances of corruption – given that the Public Protector is presently totally overwhelmed.)
2. Education.
3. The economy and unemployment and the jobless.
4. Building a genuine South African nationhood: achieving national inclusivity within the public service and the development of the economy through greater recognition of experience, merit and certainly not at the cost of competence.

All these issues are covered in Trevor Manuel’s recently released brilliant and far-sighted National Development Plan – Vision for 2030. The DA doesn’t have to do the homework. The only homework the DA – and by that I mean every public representative at all levels of government – should do is bone-up on those four issues as set out in Manuel’s plan. The main problems are there and clearly stated. The explanations are there. The rationale is there. And the policy proposals are there, in what is an eminently, well-considered, and readable document.

In other words I’m suggesting that the DA’s economic policy in respect to unemployment and the jobless is to be found between pages 89 and 213 of the Report. The DA’s education policy – and it has the people to grasp and promote this – is to be found between pages 261 and 294. And so I could go on. I urge the Democratic Alliance to keep its message simple – focusing on those four points - but base it on the National Development Plan. In fact, the DA should take ownership of the plan to the point where it knows it better than even the government itself. By so doing the DA will not only be seen to be contributing directly to better government and the improvement of lives, but also equipping itself to be devastating in opposition.