Hellen Zille's abdication as leader of the national caucus of the Democratic Alliance can only be interpreted as recognition that South Africa is a lost cause for white liberalism.

The DA election campaign launch in Soweto (and not the Cape) earlier this year has obviously failed to produce any return on investment , the DA rebuffed are now in outright retreat, positing whatever future they believe themselves to have in precisely the place they snubbed. For whatever strategic reasons the DA are angling at, most likely an attempt to sell the successful governance of the City of Cape Town, the inescapable fact is that even with a landslide electoral victory in the Western Cape, nothing will change. The unitary nature of the South African system implies that we would continue paying taxes into the SA system, continue abiding by national legislation, continue being subjected to race based policies like BEE that would override any contrary position that the people of the Cape wished for.

As a follow up on a blog posted in December, here's further news on the Cape Party.

There is no use denying that South Africa has huge socio, economic and political problems and that the government has failed miserably by not adequately addressing these problems with the given resources. However, we are a tough nation which has endured through many hardships and have only recently dealt with our greatest problem ever, Apartheid.
We are a young democracy of only 13years and are alive with potential. We are the gateway into the resource rich Southern Africa and in terms of development we are years ahead of any other country in the region. Our infrastructure is sound and expanding, the 2010 world cup is around the corner and we as South Africa's youth have so much to look forward too.

Again I reiterate that there is no denying our countries problems and the ANCs inefficient, often corrupt dealings with these problems. But it must be said that these problems were so monumental and diverse to begin with that most, if not all,  governments or organisations would struggle. This is why the recent political turmoil is the most exciting chapter in South Africa's history since 1994. The introduction of the new political party, Congress of the People or COPE, will only help better this country. If the ANC were to enjoy their rule as a monopoly we would continue to experience poor service delivery and corruption but COPE will now compete with the ANC for its share of the votes and if you have ever studied economics or played sport at a competitive level you will know that competition leads to improved performance;  in other words, more efficient, less costly and more beneficial service delivery. If either party acts ineffectively they will lose votes and as a result it will be in their best interests to not only address these problems but also further our country as a global player.

I learned last weekend of a fledgling Political Party called the Cape Party (www.capeparty.com - this is just for reference as the site is under consruction).