Democratic Alliance (DA) Shadow Minister for Public Service and Administration Dr Leon Schreiber has urged South Africans to help drive electoral support for the African National Congress (ANC) to below 50% next year, so that his party can pass into law a Bill to end cadre deployment, said to be critical in stifling corruption.

The DA’s End Cadre Deployment Bill was rejected by a thin margin of two votes in Parliament on Tuesday.

ANC members, as well as Pan African Congress members, voted against the Bill.

Schreiber believes that the ANC majority in Parliament is the only thing that continues to sustain cadre deployment corruption and he blamed President Cyril Ramaphosa for abandoning any remaining pretence of opposing corruption.

“Were it not for the ANC still having a slim majority based on the outcome of the 2019 election, Parliament would have abolished cadre deployment today. This strikingly confirms the urgency of South Africans registering to vote in 2024, so that we can finally break the ANC majority that is now the only thing that continues to sustain cadre deployment corruption,” said Schreiber.

He believes that the outcome of Tuesday’s vote confirms “beyond any doubt” that the promises made, and “lip service paid” by Ramaphosa to fighting corruption and State capture were "lies".

The 'Thuma Mina’ slogan is yet to produce any tangible results, he said, as corruption persists and people implicated in the State Capture Commission report have not faced the full might of the law.

The DA thanked parties that voted in favour of the Bill, and noted that various opposition leaders spoke strongly in favour of the “lifeline” offered to South Africa through this Bill.