Simon Grindrod's long-winded hot-air lecture on principles is deeply ironic coming from a shameless serial political party-hopper whose principles change whenever there is a new kid on the political scene.
In his piece "What does the DA actually stand for?" last week, Grindrod resorts to convenient lies, recycling misfired broadsides against the DA and failing basic research. For instance, he claims Mmusi Maimane was DA leader in 2014, when in fact he was elected at the federal congress in May 2015.
But then facts don't matter to Grindrod, like so many fellow lieutenants of Patricia de Lille.
It is extraordinary that Grindrod would myopically defend De Lille, who was found by an independent investigation to have deliberately misled the Cape Town city council, and to have interfered with and manipulated city tenders.
Yet he portrays himself as a champion of good governance and principled leadership.
De Lille and her chief lieutenant, Brett Herron, are facing criminal charges for their involvement in these instances of serious maladministration or worse.
Grindrod is, of course, unused to parties that act on principle. By removing De Lille, the DA has shown that, no matter how painful, we stand alone in our commitment to rooting out corruption and maladministration. In his babble, parties shouldn't take decisive action against their leaders, even when they have been involved in unethical dealings.
As was recently remarked by a Business Day columnist, "on the core fundamentals, on service delivery, clean government, the economy, education, budget spend, transparency, many others, [the DA] is simply in a different league".
Choose your metric and the DA can stand proudly by its performance in parliament, its record in government, and its historical position on issues that matter.
Any attempt by Grindrod at creating equivalence between the DA and the corrupt, ruinous governance of the ANC, the ugly, divisive, populist rhetoric of the EFF, or the sad fearmongering and/or pandering of small would-be opposition parties, is empty and without substance - much like he is.
Indeed, it is curious that Grindrod accuses the DA of adopting ANC policies precisely as the ANC is appropriating DA slogans!
Despite his claims to the contrary, millions of South Africans have seen their communities improved under DA good governance, from Tshwane to Nelson Mandela Bay.
They have watched the DA take up the fight in parliament and hold the ANC government to account, from portfolio committees to the Zondo commission.
Those who believe land reform is achievable - like the community of Gwatyu in the Eastern Cape that has had its land rights denied by the ANC government - have watched the DA fight for justice and for every South African's right to own land.
For South Africans who dream of a future free from crime, corruption, rampant unemployment, patronage, cadre deployment, collapsing municipalities, dysfunctional state-owned enterprises and self-serving racial divisiveness, the DA's promise of delivering change that creates one SA for all is what this party stands for.
It remains to be seen what De Lille's Good party will offer to voters, apart from failed and recycled politicians who have a history of putting themselves before country. It's too bad that the only time sympathisers of the Good party ever have anything to say is when they speak about the DA. There is no doubt they will continue to froth at the mouth about the DA, and will dabble in the bait-and-switch populism the ANC and EFF now exclusively trade in.
Grindrod and his new political home should take his own advice by "giving voters positive reasons to vote for it - and not just reasons to vote against the [DA]".
Failing which, a vote for De Lille's latest vanity project would indeed be a wasted vote, and would help to strengthen the coalition of corruption between the ANC and the EFF.
The DA, on the other hand, is focused on building a better future for South Africans, but this means some changes need to be made. This starts with people voting for change.
The corruption of the ANC government is oppressing South Africans. After Madiba left, the ANC decided it was their time to eat and they are focused on enriching only themselves. No matter who leads them, they are the same old party full of empty promises. They are not capable of fighting corruption. And they have no genuine intention to do so.
This election is your chance to get SA back on track. You can choose between more corruption or a party that has a solid record of fighting corruption and of being accountable, transparent and clean.
• Malatsi is DA national spokesperson..