The DA in the Eastern Cape has hit the ground running with its election campaign, promising a government that can be held accountable, that will tackle crime and corruption, and create jobs for the youth.
The scorching sun did not deter DA members from attending the #TeamOneSA provincial launch in Chatty on Tuesday.
The jovial crowd welcomed DA leader Mmusi Maimane, who was flanked by the party’s Eastern Cape premier candidate Nqaba Bhanga, DA Women’s Network leader Nomafrench Mbombo and federal chair Athol Trollip.
Bhanga, who has been on a listening tour around the province, said the DA was the only party that would unite SA.
“The #TeamOneSA is a reflection of what we are today. It is the kind of Eastern Cape that we want to build. We want to build an Eastern Cape of all South Africans.”
Bhanga said the DA would focus on eradicating crime by hiring highly skilled police trained to deal with investigations.
“We have to make sure that South Africa is protected. Close to five cars of the metro police that we bought in Nelson Mandela were stolen in a depot. [One was] found in Namibia.
“It is not xenophobic when the DA says it must protect our borders.
“There is no country that’s opened its gates like South Africa where people can steal cars in Port Elizabeth and they found themselves in Namibia.”
Bhanga said the DA would provide jobs to more than 400,000 unemployed people in the province.
Welcoming everyone, Trollip said the DA was the party that would bring about change.
“We brought change to Nelson Mandela Bay. Yes, there has been a change in the leadership but that is going to be good because people will compare what yesterday was like and what today brings.”
Maimane centred his speech on corrupt leadership.
“People are saying that the bad ANC is gone, the good ANC has started. I ask where the good one is?
“The ANC is a congregation of criminals which means that anyone who leads it is the chief criminal. Last year they increased VAT. It must be called Zuma tax. They are asking you and I to pay for the sins of Jacob Zuma. We are here to tell them that they are here to pay, we can’t vote for corrupt people. We are voting for change.”
Taking a swipe at the coalition government in the Bay, Maimane said: “We are not yet finished because the tsotsis [criminals] got in via the backdoor and all they want is no service for the poor.
“There is a saying: “judge a person by the friends they hang out with”. I can only judge [Bay mayor Mongameli] Bobani by [ANC councillor Andile] Lungisa.”
“They want to be mayors so they can be rich themselves.”
He said he would not rest until small businesses opened, young people found employment and corruption was curbed.