EXTRACT FROM A SPEECH BY HELEN ZILLE, LEADER OF THE DEMOCRATIC  ALLIANCE, PUBLIC MEETING, KWA NOBUHLE , EASTERN CAPE, FEBRUARY 22 2009

For a better South Africa: The DA's contract with the people

Today I am making ten commitments to the people of  South Africa  that the Democratic Alliance will honour when it is in government. Hold us to these promises. They are our bond of trust. They are our covenant with you.

We have drawn up this contract because our mission as a party of government is to rebuild the bond of trust between government and the people.

The ANC has broken that bond. In 2004, the ANC's slogan was "A people's contract to create work and fight poverty". But the ANC has not kept up its end of the contract. It has betrayed the people's trust. There are still over 4.1 million unemployed people in  South Africa , and two out of every five South Africans still live below the poverty line.

I know that when the ANC comes to places like Kwa Nobuhle, it tells lies about the DA. It says that the DA will bring back apartheid. It says that the DA will stop grants. That is not true. We will never bring back apartheid. We will always provide a social safety net of state grants.

The ANC cannot be trusted. It has broken too many promises. It has told too many lies. It has caused the people to lose hope, and mistrust talk of change. That is why the DA will not promise what we cannot deliver, and we will deliver what we promise.

These are our promises to you. This is our contract with the people for when we become South Africa 's national government:

1. Creating opportunity will be our number one priority, and we will implement policies that help to grow the economy and create jobs. We will make it easier for people to enter the labour market by reforming the laws that destroy the prospects of many unemployed people to get jobs. 
2. We will ensure quality education by focusing on the essentials - reading, writing and calculating - and set performance targets for teachers and schools, and reward good performance.
3. We will crack down on crime and strengthen the criminal justice system by expanding the police force to 250 000 competent officers, and employing 30 000 more qualified detectives.
4. We will bring back the Scorpions.
5. We will introduce a basic income grant to catch those who fall through the cracks of the social safety net.
6. We will accelerate the fight against HIV/Aids - both through prevention and treatment programmes - and improve the quality of public health care by training and recruiting more nurses and doctors and by applying sound management systems.
7. We will upgrade informal settlements, and ensure that housing subsidies reach many families in need, not just the fortunate few.
8. We will safeguard our environment and provide a transport system that is safe, reliable, affordable, and environmentally friendly.
9. We will clean up politics, and put power back where it belongs - in the hands of citizens - by giving you the opportunity to elect your President, Premier and Mayor directly.
10. We will build a society that has a place for all by promoting and protecting the language and cultural heritage of all the rainbow people.

I pledge to you, the people of Kwa Nobuhle, a government which shares your hopes, which understands your fears, and which will work in partnership with all the people, not just the privileged few.

I believe that  South Africa  can be a winning nation. For that to happen, we need change. We need a plan for change, and we need a plan to make  South Africa better: better schools, better hospitals, better ways of tackling crime, of eradicating poverty, of creating opportunity.

I want a South Africa that is one nation with one future: a country where the people have a shared sense of purpose and values; where they have the space to shape their own lives, improve their skills and follow their dreams; where ability and hard work counts more than privilege and patronage; where the government focuses on expanding and promoting equal opportunities for all, not just for some; and where people use their opportunities to create opportunities for others.

I want us to come together and create an open, opportunity society for all.

Above all, I want people to have hope, and to trust in government. I want you to believe that change is possible; that the government, working together with the people, can make South  Africa  a better place.

And I want the DA - because we are a party of government at local level, and because we will soon become a party of government provincially, and, in time, nationally - to govern in a way that brings our country together, that unites us as a nation in fighting poverty, in taking on the criminals, in improving the quality of education and healthcare.

That is why I offer you this contract today.

We have revitalised the DA and we will revitalise  South Africa . Our record in government shows that we can deliver on our promises to all the people, and that we will deliver on them. We can change  South Africa  for the better, and we will. We can make South Africa a winning nation, and we will. Vote DA and vote to win!

Issued by the Democratic Alliance February 22 2009