‘Northern Cape ANC list shows what they think of this province'
Note to Editors: This is an extract of a speech delivered by DA Leader Helen Zille at the ‘We Can Win Northern Cape' Rally held in Kimberley, Northern Cape today.
Saturday, 15 March 2014
Fellow democrats,
It is wonderful to be here in Kimberley today.
The Northern Cape will be a bellwether province for South Africa. The DA is growing every day in this province, and I believe the election result in the Northern Cape will surprise the country.
Today we are here in Kimberley to say to all the people of this province that there is hope for the future of the Northern Cape. The DA can bring change to this province. We can bring a growing economy that creates jobs for all the people.
If the voters of the Northern Cape stand together for real change in this election, they can elect a DA government that cares for them and serves their interests.
What seemed unlikely five years ago is today possible. We are already governing in municipalities in this province, and we're delivering the most services to more people than any other party.
We can stand together for change in the Northern Cape. Ons kan saam staan vir verandering.
Looking around today, I can see that things are changing already. There is an excited mood in the air.
There are two reasons for this. The first is plain and simple: The ANC of Jacob Zuma and John Block has run this province badly. The people of the Northern Cape have been left behind by its leaders.
The Northern Cape is the case study that shows that corruption and unemployment are two sides of the same coin. Under Jacob Zuma and John Block, unemployment and corruption have gone ‘hand-in-hand' in the Northern Cape.
The unemployment rate in this province is 35%. Where the DA governs, just next door, the unemployment rate is 22%. What's the difference? The DA!
Only the DA can deliver REAL jobs in the Northern Cape.
The MEC for Economic Development is the person that should be working every day to get the economy growing, to attract new investors - so that jobs can be created. But not this MEC!
John Block faces fraud and corruption charges. He has been spending every day making sure he gets a better life - not you! He's been spending every day serving himself - not you!
The Northern Cape's economy has gone backwards over the last five years. That is why it is easy to see in this province how corruption and unemployment go hand in hand.
I hoped that the ANC would fire John Block and stand up for what is right. But this week we saw that he is again number 2 on the ANC's list for the Northern Cape legislature.
Not only him - but the Fast Food Premier, Sylvia Lucas, is number 3 on the list. Remember, she spent R50 000 of your money buying KFC and McDonalds and pizzas for herself and her friends.
And Alvin Botes is number 4 on the list. He is also being prosecuted for receiving a monthly "retainer" from a property company to ensure that they were awarded government contracts and leases.
And Yolanda Botha is number 5 on the list for Parliament. She has had more than R24 million in assets seized by the Asset Forfeiture Unit for her corrupt dealings with the same company.
But here's the biggest irony. The ANC was still so confident of Ms Botha's ability to handle money honestly, that she was elected as the ANC's provincial treasurer.
The ANC's list for the Northern Cape shows what they think of this province. I think the Northern Cape lists are a perfect reflection of what Jacob Zuma's ANC has become. Jacob Zuma and John Block's ANC doesn't care about stopping corruption. They don't care about changing the way the things are. They care about keeping things exactly as they are now!
That is why we must stand together for change.
A DA government in the Northern Cape will audit and investigate all provincial departments and all existing contracts, and those that are corrupt will be cancelled. We will open up tender committees to the public so that anyone can see how tenders are awarded.
We do not tolerate corruption, because we know it is stealing straight from the pockets of the poor.
The second reason things can change in this province is that more and more people are discovering that the promise of a better life is being delivered by the DA. While others talk about it, we deliver it.
In 2011, the DA took over the Hantam Municipality. Hantam was just like the rest of the Northern Cape.
When we took over, the Hantam council was collapsing fast. Its finances were in a mess, and ANC officials treated it like a piggy bank.
Water provision was actually getting worse. So was sanitation provision.
In a short time, the DA has transformed the Hantam municipality from an insolvent shambles to a well-oiled administration with service delivery to people at its heart.
We appointed professional officials, not party cadres.
We cut wasteful expenditure so that we could spend more money on services for the poor.
We fixed the water infrastructure. By 2012 - just over a year after we took over - Hantam was the best performing municipality for water services in the Northern Cape.
And in the same year, Hantam saw the best improvement in sanitation conditions in the province.
R101 million has been allocated to current and recently completed infrastructure projects.
The Hantam story, of course, is a work in progress.
But the DA has begun to deliver the better life for all.
Hantam gives the people of the Northern Cape a taste of what they can expect if they vote DA.
In this election, the DA is asking for the chance to serve at the provincial level like we already do for the residents of Hantam.
The DA can and will turn this province around if we are elected. We will stop corruption and start job creation.
We can write a new story in the Northern Cape. You have seen what we can do in a small municipality. Imagine what we could do if we won the province.
All we ask is for the opportunity to show what we can do.
Stand with the DA on May 7. Stand Together for Change; Together for Jobs.
Issued by the DA, March 15 2014
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