DA is pragmatic on matters of style, principled on matters of substance - Steenhuisen

CAPE TOWN - The Democratic Alliance (DA) may have navigated recent court battles against government and still managed to stave off being thrown out of the coalition but party leader John Steenhuisen said that his party doesn’t plan to become a pushover on matters of principle for the party.

This includes the Expropriation Act and the National Health Insurance (NHI), which were signed into law during the previous administration.

Saturday marked one year since the statement of intent was signed, which governs the coalition.

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However, in the absence of terms of reference for the Government of National Unity (GNU)'s dispute mechanism, exactly how does the party plan to negotiate the challenges that lie ahead?

Steenhuisen said that his party would prefer to iron out matters of contention within the GNU and not by heading to the courts.

But he said that the statement of intent recognised parties' rights to approach the judiciary on matters of dispute.

Steenhuisen said that while the party had made several compromises on new legislation, including on the minimum wage, it was unapologetic for going up against the finance minister over a proposal to increase the value-added tax (VAT) rate.

"I think we've demonstrated that we are pragmatic on matters of style, but we are principled on matters of substance, and I think that's very important, particularly in the VAT fight, and it showed as well that we can prevail."

Steenhuisen said that the party’s commitment to the GNU can’t be second-guessed and it was unfair to say the party still behaved like an opposition party when it disagreed with the African National Congress (ANC).

"The last year has been tough because all of us have had to unlearn muscle memory of the previous 30 years. The ANC muscle memory is that they are the majority party and they can do what they like. The DA's muscle memory was opposition, and so all of us have had to relearn new muscle memory to navigate the new environment that the voters have thrust upon us."

Steenhuisen said the party still wanted the Expropriation Act to be returned to Parliament for refinement.