With the 2029 national elections in sight, we test whether the DA's empowerment rethink resonates with the majority it hopes to attract. Ferial Haffajee put some tough questions to the party's head of policy, Mat Cuthbert.

With the 2029 national elections in sight, we test whether the DA's empowerment rethink resonates with the majority it hopes to attract. Ferial Haffajee put some tough questions to the party's head of policy, Mat Cuthbert.

Question: What makes blue see so much red about black? By this I mean why is the idea of black empowerment such anathema to the DA? Apartheid and colonialism are close in our rear-view mirror - there is no way that just 30 years after the end of apartheid, we are anywhere close to dealing with the economic legacies of a system that was designed to strip people of land, wealth and opportunity.

Answer: The DA is a strong advocate of empowerment to redress our country's historical injustices. However, we argue that the foundation of the country's BEE [Black Economic Employment] laws was explicitly designed by big business to retain the existing economic structure and curry favour with the emerging political elite within the ANC. This led to an exclusionary system which favoured the politically connected at the expense of the poor. This is not true black empowerment, except perhaps for a few. If we want genuine empowerment, we actually need to break down...