It’s time to take real action on 3 August

17 July 2016

Note to Editors: The following remarks were made by DA Leader Mmusi Maimane MP at the launch of the DA’s “call to action” election advert at Maunde Square Park in Atteridgeville, Tshwane. Maimane was joined by the DA’s Mayoral Candidate for Tshwane, Solly Msimanga MPL, and the DA’s Shadow Minister in the Presidency, Sej Motau MP. The TV advert can be accessed here.

Fellow Democrats,

People of Tshwane,

It is great to be here today in the Capital City to launch the Democratic Alliance’s final TV Advert entitled “Call to Action”.

The core message of the advert is simply this: to call to action every single citizen who loves this country, and who believes in a better future, to play their respective role in bringing about the change we need to move South Africa forward again by voting DA on 3 August.

You see, democrats, the only way we will see change in South Africa is by choosing change. Every single one of you has a role to play in this regard. Without voting for change, the status quo will remain and South Africa will be subject to another 5 years of the ANC’s horror story. 

For another 5 years, we will see the same rampant levels of unemployment

We will see the same toxic corruption, maladministration and sheer dishonesty within government

And we will see the same lack of basic service delivery for all South Africans.

The power to bring about change lies with you – every single one of you.

22 years since the dawn of democracy and the need for change is starkly apparent anywhere and everywhere you go in South Africa. Hopelessness is rife, as we see an ANC government that only cares for itself and its cronies.

South Africans from all corners of our great country – in Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Bay, and here in Tshwane - are seeing through the ANC’s false promises and hollow apologies. Every election year we are forced to hear the ANC’s “good story”, yet as I travel this country I struggle to see any signs of any “good story” at all.

Jacob Zuma’s ANC does not care for the people of this country, and it is time we speak up and use our votes to remove the ANC once and for all. Your vote is how to reject an ANC government that buys a R4 billion jet for Zuma while 8.9 million South Africans are jobless. Your vote is the most effective way to complain about potholes, broken streetlights, taps that run dry, lack of housing or rubbish that goes uncollected in your town.

Madiba’s dream of a united, non-racial and prosperous South Africa only lives here in the DA. We are the most diverse party in South Africa, and where we govern, people’s lives are improving every day. There is no corruption, jobs are being created and basic services are delivered to all.

As the DA, we’ve put the proof on the table. We have shown you the DA difference in places such as Cape Town and Midvaal. We have given you the offer and the choice, but the power to vote for change and elect us is in your hands.

Fellow democrats, the ANC cannot save itself. In December 2007, just 250kms up the road in Polokwane, the ANC elected Jacob Zuma as their President at the party’s national conference. And with that, the ANC of Mandela, Tambo and Sisulu began to fade and be replaced with the ANC of Zuma, the Gupta’s and Hlaudi Motsoeneng. 

Almost 2400 ANC delegates - representing “the people” - elected a man who had 783 charges of fraud and corruption hanging over his head.

Since then, the ANC has protected and promoted Jacob Zuma at all costs. From Nkandla to the Gupta’s, Zuma has become the epitome of the ANC.

The ANC has broken Parliament, turning it into a lapdog whereby the sins of the President are absolved rather than admonished.

The ANC created Zuma, elected him as their leader, and protected and defended him every step of the way. The ANC is Jacob Zuma, and Jacob Zuma is the ANC.

Make no mistake, I will keep fighting Jacob Zuma and his corrupt ANC in Parliament and in the courts, but I can’t fire him or his ANC. I’m not their boss – you are. Only the people of South Africa can do so through their vote.

Zuma will not change. The ANC will not change. But South Africans can change the government they have by voting for the better South Africa we all dream of.

Where the DA is in government, the lives of all South Africans are constantly improving. This is the difference a DA government brings. A government that works every day to ensure South Africa becomes a land of prosperity for all who call it home.

Come 3 August this year, South Africans from across the country, in every city, in every town, on every farm, in every village South Africa will have the opportunity to vote for change that moves South Africa forward again – change that stops corruption, delivers better services and creates jobs.

An opportunity to use their voice to speak those powerful two words to Jacob Zuma and his ANC: You’re fired!

The power is in your hands!

Issued by the DA, 17 July 2016