Steenhuisen calls on SAns to rally behind GNU Cabinet
As the country's second-largest party, the DA has scored the greatest in the executive, earning six ministerial posts and the same number of deputies.
FILE: Leader of the Democratic Alliance John Steenhuisen speaks during a debate at a parliamentary session in Cape Town. Picture: Gianluigi Guercia / AFP
CAPE TOWN - Democratic Alliance (DA) leader and new minister of agriculture, John Steenhuisen says the time of confrontation and finger-pointing is over.
He's rallying South Africans to get behind the new Government of National Unity (GNU) which he says they've voted for to fix the glaring problems facing the country.
In a live-streamed address on Monday, Steenhuisen said he's already given first-time DA ministers their marching orders, reminding them of the massive responsibilities they now face.
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As the country's second-largest party, the DA has scored the greatest in the executive, earning six ministerial posts and the same number of deputies.
With either a minister or a deputy in each major cluster of government - Steenhuisen said this would allow the voices of the party's voters to be heard in each of these sectors.
In the economics cluster, he said rapid growth and job creation would be the key drivers, while service delivery will be the focus of Home Affairs and quality education at both school and tertiary levels.
"But we must not kid ourselves that any of this will be easy. And we must not get carried away by the significance of the moment. The truth is that the road ahead will be a difficult one," he said.
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While President Cyril Ramaphosa has lauded parties for coming together to form a government in just over a month, Steenhuisen says none of the country's problems will be solved overnight.
"We know that the time for confrontation is over. The time for collaboration has arrived. But this collaboration is not only between political leaders. Collaboration is now also required between the government of national unity and the people who voted to create it," Steenhuisen said.
Among the other portfolios under the DA's custodianship are Public Works and Infrastructure, Environment, Forestry and Fisheries and Communications.