Andrew Louw, son of the Northern Cape soil, is the man to lead this province in 2019
Note to Editors: the following remarks were delivered today by DA Leader, Mmusi Maimane, at the announcement of the DA's Premier Candidate for the Northern Cape. Maimane was joined by DA Gauteng Provincial Leader, John Moodey.
Our announcement today of the DA’s candidate for Premier of the Northern Cape in the 2019 election marks the start of a campaign that will usher in a new era of accountability and commitment to the people of this province.
If you look at the voting trends in the Northern Cape, you will know that the political sands here are fast shifting. Over the past decade there has been a big swing away from the ANC, and a big swing towards the DA, in both national and provincial, as well as the local government elections. This trend has been echoed in recent by-election results across the province.
The Northern Cape is very much “in play” for 2019, and the DA is making all the necessary preparations to lead a government here after the election, as we are also doing in Gauteng under the guidance of Gauteng Provincial Leader, John Moodey, who has accompanied me here today.
We fully intend to become the biggest party in the Northern Cape next year, and we plan to hit the ground running in government so that we can help unlock the potential of this largely forgotten province. To do so, we will apply the same principles as we did in the Western Cape, which saw that province become the biggest provider of new jobs in the country in recent years. Last year, three quarters of all new jobs were added in the Western Cape. This was only possible thanks to the DA’s obsessive focus on enabling growth and enterprise in the private sector, rather than making job creation a function of the state.