Ms Terri Stander (DA)

What is your political background? I got involved in politics when I got employed by the Central District Municipality (CDM) of the North West in 2006 as a human resources officer. Councillor Gondwe of the ANC at the time approached me to join the ANC and I joined. Unfortunately since paying my joining fee I was never contacted again. Since then I developed an interest in politics and having reviewed the policies of the ANC which were good on paper, I then followed the good and bad reports about the party. Being analytical in nature I started looking at what was being said about the ANC and what it was actually doing in the interest of South Africans. I noticed inconstancies and mentally withdrew from the politics of the ANC.

Late in 2007 after I had left CDM, I started a business as a labour law consultant which I ran until May 2014. Having joined the Business Forum during that time and was part of the mailing list, someone sent me an article by Helen Zille from the South Africa Today newsletter. After reading that article I found that it resonated with the kind of South Africa I would want to be part of. I was then e-mailed an application to apply for the DA Young Leaders programme. After the application and testing period,I was shortlisted to be amongst the 20 chosen candidates out of 800 applicants to further participate in the programme.

At the end of 2009 after finishing the programme, I officially joined the DA and was elected a branch chairperson of the party in the Ndlambe District in Port Alfred. I was in that position from 2009 until 2011 where I was elected to be a proportional representative councillor in the Ndlambe District Municipality. I became very busy with developmental programmes of the DA in that community in wards 7, 8 and 9 until 2014. In May 2014 I was elected to Parliament.

What does your job as an MP entail? I am currently the DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Women and previously served as the DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises. From Tuesday to Thursday I attend plenary in the afternoon and Tuesday mornings I also do my administration and preparation for committee meetings. Between Friday and Monday I am in my constituency.

What has made a big impression on you so far in Parliament? I was very impressed with the level of performance by the Department of Environmental Affairs whilst I was in the committee portfolio committee on environmental affairs. The committee environment was quite welcoming and the committee got along quite well.

From November 2014 the Chamber has been quite chaotic in terms of the filibustering and disruptions by the EFF however; I am grateful that I am part of the generation that is making history in terms of how we engage in the Chamber. During that time I was unfortunately caught up during the first ejection of the EFF from the Chamber where I sustained serious bruises. Since early 2015 I have gradually become concerned that we are not doing enough work in the National Assembly as the disruptions have continued, and that is apart from some troubling legislation which have been passed which I feel is not in the entire interest of South Africans.

What constituency area have you been assigned to you by your party? My constituency includes King Williams Town (Dimbaza), Zwelitsha, Ilitha, Berlin, Phumlani informal settlement, Ndevana; and East and West Bulembu.

What has been most interesting about your constituency work so far? Mr Mente of the Masthathu clan adopted and gave the name Noxolo. In 2000 Mr Mente was promised an individual subsidy by government and in 2002 he spent his entire Eskom retirement package building quite a large dwelling up to ceiling level with the understanding that the individual subsidy would finish the roof of his house. In 2011 his granddaughter approached me for help as the house was still without a roof. After another long period of hassling the provincial government of the Eastern Cape about the matter the house was eventually completed at the beginning of 2015. However, Mr Mente had passed away in 2013.

My other contributions in my constituency include establishment of a library and upgrades to schools and clean-up campaigns. Infrastructure in terms of water and sanitation, road standards and electrification are the most common challenges that I have come across in my constituency work. Road that have not been ungraded make it impossible for people to access economic hubs for work and services.

What are you most passionate about - this applies both in a political/professional arena as well as personally? I believe that if a person is able bodied, there is nothing stopping that person from making their way in life if they have the necessary education, healthcare and safety. If one is potentially a target of robberies on their way home from school or work that hampers that person from going anywhere or doing anything. However, if these three basic things are provided for, I believe everyone has the potential to do great things and it is this potential to succeed that drew me to the DA. The DA recognises individual potential within a collective. I also like the DA’s belief in making people independent instead of being dependent. Whilst we support the increase in social grants, we want more jobs as well to decrease the list of indigent citizens. Over and above this, social justice is my biggest passion within the DA, my community and the greater South Africa I am a part of.

What would your message to South Africa be? The right to vote was hard won and as such there is a responsibility to exercise that right and disregarding that opportunity means that: first, you are having no impact in what direction the country is going. Secondly, you are saying that the sacrifices made by all the liberation stalwarts, recognised and unrecognised, was not in your interests.

I understand the emotional and spiritual connection many or most of the black communities of the country feel towards the government of the ANC. And since my parents voted ANC many youths would feel the need to continue voting that way. If South Africa is to move forward, the majority rule of government must be broken. Until there is a change of government, then South Africa will remain an untrue democracy where one political party controls every sector of society. South Africans have to vote for the DA as it is the only political party with a workable blue print on how to run a government. Cape Town is a point in existence of how things can be better in the rest of South Africa where 76% of the City of Cape Town budget is spent on informal settlements and other poor areas. All we need is a chance to run government as we the DA is the most prepared to move the country forward.

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