There is light at the end of the tunnel in the form of the Multi-Party Charter for South Africa. This coalition agreement, between eight political parties and counting, is a viable path to a post-ANC government! We sat down with DA Leader John Steenhuisen to discuss the DA’s work to rescue South Africa and why the DA is the essential anchor of the charter.

ChangeMaker (CM): You recently put up the first election poster in Johannesburg. It says “register to rescue SA.” What does this slogan mean to you?

John Steenhuisen (JS): Our registration slogan is a solemn call to all South Africans to rescue our country from the dangerous trajectory towards fiscal collapse and state failure that we are currently on. South Africa simply cannot survive a further five years under the ANC, and for me, the DA’s slogan is a clarion call to all citizens who love our country to stand up and do something about it. With the creation of the Multi-Party Charter, a new national majority government is now finally within our reach. South Africans who want to rescue South Africa will need to register to vote for it.

CM: Why is it so important to register and vote DA, in particular, when the DA has signed an agreement to enter into a multi-party coalition with many other opposition parties after the national and provincial elections in 2024?

JS: While the Multi-Party Charter presents a viable path to victory in the coming election, the looming threat of an ANC-EFF coalition still lingers. The only party out of all those represented in the Charter big enough to defeat the EFF, is the DA. So if South Africans want a new government, and a South Africa in which the EFF is kept at bay, the only party who can deliver a new government and protect you from this very real threat is the DA.

CM: You have been on the road travelling to communities across the country for months now, listening to what different people need from their government. What motivates you to do what you do?

JS: I am primarily motivated by the millions of South Africans who have yet to reap the benefits of freedom. 1994 may have ushered in democracy for our country, but nearly thirty years later, more South Africans languish below the poverty line than just ten years ago. My drive to ensure that all South Africans have access to opportunity, and can live a life of dignity that they so deserve, is what gets me up every morning and motivates me to fight for a better future for us all.