I am ready to keep making progress in Cape Town

25 January 2016

This morning I went through a competitive process to become the Democratic Alliance’s Mayoral Candidate for Cape Town for this year’s Local Government Election.

I would to thank the DA for expressing its confidence in me. I humbly accept this nomination.

When I asked the people of the great city of Cape Town to lend me their vote in 2011, I did so on the promise that I would work to make this great city even greater.

And I think we have made a lot of progress.

We have installed the backbone of a public transportation system, one that extends from Atlantis to Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s Plain.

We have put in the broadband network that is helping us become a digital city of the twenty-first century.

We have invested more in the Expanded Public Works programme, over R130 million a year, than any other municipality.

We have worked to make gang-ridden areas safer and tackle substance-abuse head on.

We were the first government to roll-out an anti-racism campaign to inform residents of their rights, a campaign endorsed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Ahmed Kathrada. 

We have helped create jobs through investments in incentives and investments in the green economy.

And we have done all of this while getting successive clean audits from the Auditor-General.

As successful as we have been, we still have so much more to do.

Five years is not long enough to achieve lasting change. It is not enough time to fully overcome a legacy of nearly 400 years of division and unjust policies. 

Because while I went for a job interview this morning, too many South Africans never get that opportunity, and the number is growing around South Africa every day. These jobless South Africans never get the chance to experience the dignity of work and being able to support themselves and their families.

The scale of this problem is exacerbated by our current economic climate, which has suffered not just from global events affecting developing economies but short-sighted policies from Pretoria that act as a barrier to growth. 

That is why the work we are doing her in Cape Town, the work of good government over time, is so important.

Our work here is not just for Cape Town- it is for South Africa as we set the example of what good governance can achieve. In the next five years, we want to make more progress and build on our strengths.

We want to create more opportunities and jobs. 

We want to make sure that everyone receives the highest quality of service delivery, expanding on what we have achieved already under DA governance. 

I want to continue to lead a team of men and women who not only have a vision for a better future but the experience and track-record to build a better Cape Town.

Over the coming months, I will share my plans for the next five years with the electorate.

That vision will continue the mission of progress with the same five pillars acting as a guide: the opportunity city; the safe city; the caring city; the inclusive city; and the well-run city.

Today was the first part of my job interview.

Over the coming months, the people of Cape Town will interview me.

I look forward to the campaign and to what I hope will be a positive engagement of ideas and policies for our future. I am ready to keep making progress in Cape Town.

Statement issued by Patricia de Lille, DA Mayoral Candidate for the City of Cape Town, 25 January 2016