Hammanskraal: Stand with the DA on 7 May

16 April 2014

Note to Editors: This speech was delivered by DA Leader Helen Zille in Hammanskraal, Tshwane today. 

Democrats,

Three weeks from today South Africa will go to the polls to elect a new government.

This has been a long campaign. Many have spoken passionately about the state of South Africa twenty years after Nelson Mandela was elected as our first democratic president. His legacy is powerful and enduring. 

While the challenges before us are great, there is nothing wrong with South Africa that cannot be fixed when South Africans stand together. 

One challenge is bigger than all the others: Unemployment

The Democratic Alliance has fought this election with the manifesto Together for Change, Together for Jobs. 

Our manifesto is bold and ambitious - it is a well-researched and properly budgeted plan to halve unemployment in a decade. It is the kind of leadership for the economy that South Africa needs. It is not full of unrealistic populism that can never be implemented, and neither is it the more-of-the-same, timid, kind of manifesto that President Zuma has offered.

South Africa stands at the fork in the road. 

Last week, we learned that Nigeria has overtaken South Africa as the continent's largest economy. Nigeria is a much bigger country, with many more people, and they had not recalculated the size of their economy since the 1990s, so the announcement this week was no surprise. 

But, the big question is whether Nigeria will overtake South Africa as the place to invest and do business in Africa? Or will we see this an opportunity for South African entrepreneurs to innovate and to take advantage of a continent growing much faster than we are. 

It's clear to me...

One path leads to decline, and being overtaken by other African countries. 

The other path means taking hard choices to get South Africa working and moving forward again.

But we can only move forward as one country if each of its citizens gets the chance to move forward.

We are still a nation divided between "insiders" and "outsiders". 

There are those who have access to opportunities, and who the chance to work in a job that pays a living wage. And there are those who are locked outside to fend for themselves - they are unemployed, or employed is such lowing paying jobs that they cannot make it through the month. 

Inequality is usually measured by the gap in incomes. But the DA also measures inequality as the big gulf between those who have jobs that pay good salaries, and the millions who are jobless. 

This provides a more authentic picture of the state of the nation. 

But when the economy grows fast enough to create millions of new jobs, only then we can start to make real progress in reducing inequalities in our society.

This can only be achieved through an economy that grows at 8 per cent a year to create 6 million real, permanent jobs.

And to do this, we need a government that works. And a government that works for the people and with the people, not a government that works against the people. 

On day one in a new government, the DA will get to work to create 6 million REAL jobs. 

To deliver on this commitment, we will take eight steps that lead to jobs and opportunities for all. 

Firstly, a good job requires a good education.

A good education needs good teachers, in good schools, with hard-working principals. 

The DA will train 15 000 more teachers each year. They will receive quality-checked training, and they will be held more accountable for their performance in the classroom. 

We will give every child a textbook for every subject. 

The DA is the only party which has done this in government. 100% of textbooks are delivered where the DA governs.

Secondly, the funding for student loans and bursaries will be increased by 16 billion Rand. 

Under the DA, no student will be denied further education because of their circumstances. That means that not one student will fail to receive a place at an institution of higher learning, simply because of their financial means.

Higher education for EVERY qualifying matriculant!

And we will create 1 million internships for young job-seekers to gain experience. Each and every year one million young people will get the chance to develop on-the-job skills to help them get work, under the DA.

In addition to 6 million real, permanent jobs - we know that public works jobs also have an important role to play in helping people get out of poverty. In a DA government, 7 million public works opportunities will be provided to give job-seekers a step-up, and learn work skills. 

The DA will give small businesses the support and training they need. In fact, we will actively support small businesses with tax incentives and rewards for creating jobs.

The DA supports black economic empowerment that creates jobs, not a few billionaires. We do not support the same people getting richer and richer through BEE. We say that everybody who suffered under apartheid must benefit from BEE today, not only those who are well connected. 

This, in summary, is our offer to the country. Every commitment we make has been tested and budgeted. And many of these programmes have already been implemented where we govern. 

We can govern elsewhere in South Africa with your support. Today our call is an invitation to every person in this country: 

Stand with the DA on May 07.

Together for Change. Together for Jobs. 

Issued by the DA, April 16 2014

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