Our manifesto reveals that a DA-run municipality is the best place to live
In this election, we are able to deliver a unique offer in our manifesto – not only of promises, but we can present how from municipalities in Gauteng to the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape we are already putting our money where our mouth is.
Unfortunately, local government is where the state of decay is at its worst. Many people already experience water-shedding going hours and days without water. Nelson Mandela Bay is experiencing a severe and prolonged drought. Some of the immediate interventions the City has implemented to combat this situation include accelerating water leaks’ identification and repairs. The City has repaired 7 559 water leaks from January to May 2021.
Furthermore, the sinking of groundwater boreholes will add 15 million litres per day by July 2022. Working with the residents in Nelson Mandela Bay we will do everything in our power to avoid running out of water, like we achieved together with the people of the Western Cape.
South Africa's municipal sewerage system is also collapsing. Of the 824 treatment plants, approximately 60 release clean water. In 2016 the DA administration in the City of Tshwane inherited water and sewage infrastructure that had been neglected for many years.
We have worked hard to start turning the years of neglect and mismanagement around. The project to fix and improve the plant is progressing so well that after a site visit by the then national minister of water and sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, the department committed to fund phase two and three of the project. We will be holding them to this.
Electricity blackouts in South Africa are getting worse. Before 2008 they were unheard of. Now they are a constant feature of our lives. Where the DA governs, we help to free residents from Eskom load shedding. If you live in DA-run Cape Town, you already experience fewer blackouts. The Steenbras Hydro-electrical Power Scheme has reduced load shedding times compared to municipalities not run by the DA. Often when the country is experiencing load shedding, Cape Town residents are at least one level lower than the rest of the country.
Speeding, drunk, and reckless driving, as well as unmaintained roads are among the top causes of road accidents. In Jeffreys Bay, where we govern the Kouga Municipality, the eco-friendly (plastic) road scooped two awards at the 9th annual Eco-Logic Awards in September 2020. The revolutionary new approach to the tarring of roads has the potential to increase the lifespan of roads and reduce maintenance costs while also combating plastic pollution and climate change.
We are all concerned about the economic future of this country. Attempts at local economic development have been marked by vanity projects which most of South Africa’s struggling municipalities cannot afford and which bear no fruit. For most municipalities local economic development is best served by a focus on basic service delivery, infrastructure development, and reviewing regulatory interventions which dissuade business activity.
Where we get into government for the first time, simply getting the basics right will be the biggest contribution we can make to the economic prosperity of residents. Like households, businesses need to rely on running water, electricity available 24/7 on demand, well maintained roads, and other infrastructure necessary for the day to day conduct of business.
The City of Cape Town came out as the top performer in South Africa in the Doing Business Survey conducted by the World Bank. It is no mistake then that at 29.1%, the Western Cape continues to have the lowest expanded unemployment rate in South Africa, 17.3 percentage points lower than the average for the other eight provinces.
We point out our successes because we know we can turn around every town and city given the chance. While we know we are not perfect it gives us great pride to stand behind the fact that a DA-run municipality is the best place to live in this beautiful country.
Gwen Ngwenya, the Head of Policy for the Democratic Alliance
