With just less than 12 months before the general and provincial elections, the DA in the Western Cape is forging ahead with its plans to push for federal autonomy in the province. 

The party took a resolution during its congress in April 2023 that it would push its Provincial Powers Bill, which, if passed, would empower provincial and local governments and devolve national powers to them. 

On Wednesday, the DA detailed how it wants full control of the following national competencies: policing, public transport and rail, energy, trade and harbours. 

The bill, which was introduced in May, is currently before the Speaker of the Western Cape Legislature. The Speaker will now have to form an ad hoc committee to oversee a public participation process. This will be considered on 27 July when the legislature sits. 

The committee will be composed of 10 members nominated by the parties represented in the legislature and appointed by the Speaker.

It is expected that the committee will consider reports filed by the Premier, seek comment on the report from the national government, municipalities and any other affected organ of state, as well public comment on the report.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Zille pushes for devolution in Western Cape, starting with policing power – working group established

“The ANC national government has failed to carry out its statutory and executive responsibilities to the people of South Africa,” said Christopher Fry, a DA member of the provincial parliament. 

“The incompetence, mismanagement and corruption that has become endemic in the Union Buildings have come at the heavy price of collapsed service delivery and economic regression across the country.

“We are of the view that in order to stem the tide against state failure in South Africa it has become critical that greater powers are devolved to capable provincial and local governments such as the Western Cape. The Bill identifies five urgent areas where the Western Cape should assert existing powers or seek additional powers.” 

He added that the DA introduced the Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill as part of its commitment to expand federal autonomy for capable provincial and local governments and to empower them to manage devolved functions from the national government.

Dr Ivan Meyer, DA federal chairperson and the province’s agriculture MEC, said this is not a Bill to separate the Western Cape from the rest of South Africa as many people assume.

“We want the rest of South Africa to succeed; we want to be part of South Africa but we do not want to be part of an ANC failed state. If we win the elections, we will put our foot on the pedal to have this in other provinces as well.”

Ahead of the 2024 elections, the DA is in talks with seven political parties who will hold a “national convention” to discuss working together ahead of next year’s polls to finalise plans to unseat the ANC from power. 

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The DA has for the past few years called for the devolution of powers of the police. A group called the Western Cape Devolution Working Group (WCDWG) was formed last year. 

“The group will use all legal means at its disposal including formal legislation, political lobbying, legal action, public participation and peaceful mass mobilisation,” said DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille at the time. 

Both Police Minister Bheki Cele and President Cyril Ramaphosa have in the past shot down requests by the Western Cape government to be given more power to run the police and rail sector. 

‘Trying to usurp power’

The ANC has opposed and rejected the Bill. The party’s leader in the legislature, Cameron Dugmore, said the party firmly believes that the Bill poses a significant threat to the stability, unity and democratic fabric of the Western Cape and South Africa at large. 

“The DA through this Bill is merely advocating for power sharing through a federal constitution and a federal system. The DA is clearly trying to usurp the powers and functions of the national government via [the] back door. This is perhaps the clearest indication that the reality has finally sunk in that the DA will never govern nationally.” 

Dugmore said the DA was quick to want to pass a Bill that it claimed will improve service delivery when it was failing to deliver basic services with the powers it had now. 

“Klipfontein Hospital still has not replaced GF Jooste (hospital) almost 10 years later. It’s only excuses and more excuses. The Western Cape has a problem of unplaced learners and challenges in education. Basic service delivery like sewage running in streets; street lights that are not working; we are seeing more and more sites serviced than integrated human settlements built,” Dugmore said.

He also said that the taxi industry was always up in arms in the province yet it transports most commuters. 

DA provincial leader Tertuis Simmers differed with Dugmore, saying the province was the best run in the country, receiving clean audits and had the lowest unemployment rate. 

Little recourse for Western Cape 

Professor Pierre de Vos, head of the Department of Public Law at the University of Cape Town Law Faculty, has in the past explained that “section 235 [of the Constitution] states that the ‘South African people as a whole’ enjoys a right to self-determination, and leaves it to the national legislature to decide whether to recognise limited self-determination within the existing borders of the country.”

“If the national legislature declines to pass such legislation, an aggrieved community will have no legal recourse, as they enjoy no rights in terms of section 235,” De Vos said.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Push for devolution of Western Cape policing powers may have pragmatic footing but no legal standing

He explained that the Western Cape government could argue that it had a right to call a referendum on the matter, but its results wouldn’t be binding on national leaders.

“But when a provincial referendum deals with a matter that only the national executive and legislature is authorised to deal with, there will be little or no political cost to them when they ignore its outcome — as it is likely to do in the event that Western Cape voters endorse the devolution of policing powers to the province in a provincial referendum. 

“While the Western Cape government could use a provincial referendum to shore up its electoral support in the province, it will almost certainly have no other discernible impact.” DM