#DALists: One South Africa for All in action
Today, is an important day for the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the people of South Africa. Today, we announce the names of people who have been submitted to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to represent the people of South Africa. This day further shows the DA to be the only party that remembers and practices the late President Nelson Mandela’s vision for One South Africa for All.
Download the lists here:
There isn’t another party that engages in such a thorough process in the selection as representatives of the people. We can safely say that the South Africans we are nominating to represent to go to the National Assembly and the nine Provincial Legislatures are the best and most capable, who will carry the hopes of the people of the country.
This is in stark contrast to the current majority party which has nominated people who, frankly, belong in prison and not Parliament.
In the interests of democratic processes and transparency, we today make our lists public so that the people of South Africa know who will represent them. Furthermore, South Africans will have until the end of the month an opportunity to object to the lists of political parties when the IEC publishes all the party lists. This highlights the beauty of our democracy, where the people nominated to lead are vetted by the people who vote.
In this regard, we have uploaded our lists, as submitted to the IEC on our website for public scrutiny.
Indeed, our lists represent the rich diversity of our beautiful country. Our lists are diverse in every sense – race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, skills set, geography, class and the blend between youth and experience. When the people of South Africa look at the DA lists they will see themselves. No other party can claim to represent all South Africans.
As difficult as the task of Building One South Africa for All is, we remain committed to it. We will not be side-tracked by racial nationalists – black and white – nor will we be deaf to the Constitutional call which states that “South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.”
The DA has put forward the country’s best representatives who will champion the need to Build One South Africa for All. Between now, election day and beyond, they will campaign and work to ensure that there is a job in every home, corruption is stopped, our country’s borders are secure, we are kept safe by an honest and professional police service, and the delivery of basic services accelerated.
Despite South Africa’s hard-won freedom, there are still too many people who suffer unnecessarily because the current government has chosen to put its interests ahead of almost 58-million people. This is highlighted by the testimony coming out of the Zondo Inquiry into State Capture, and the High-Level Review Panel on the State Security Agency.
The last 20 years of our democracy have been characterised by ‘Big Man Politics’, unmitigated and unashamed corruption, aided and abetted by the ANC. This been a blight on the country’s democracy, which was bought at a great price. It is for this reason and others, why the DA Leader, Mmusi Maimane has called upon the new National Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Shamila Batohi to criminally charge the ANC as a racketeering enterprise.
As someone who was part of the opposition to apartheid before 1994, and has served in Parliament since then, I have an intimate understanding of the sacrifice that preceded our democracy and the collective dream we shared as South Africans. We cannot let our Constitutional Democracy and the hopes of South Africans become a dream deferred.
South Africa cannot afford another five wasted years. The people of this country cannot afford to pay for the ANC’s corruption.
As we sit here today, there are 10-million South Africans who are without work; Eskom, which sits with a debt of R420-billion cannot keep the lights on; next month we will see a dramatic and unaffordable rise in the cost of living through the petrol and electricity prices; and at the end of the month Moodey’s will adjudicate on the country’s economic health, which is in ICU.
Just this morning, Eskom announced that they are instituting schedule 4 load-shedding, meaning that we are headed to total national blackouts. The fact that Eskom would move to stage 4, during a weekend when the demand is not high, truly illustrates the crisis that we find ourselves in. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s appointment of Deputy President, David Mabuza, to head up the task team is further evidence that the ANC does not know how to deal with broken power utility.
People who have contributed to the decline of this country have been awarded with cabinet positions as opposed to being held to account. How is that people like Faith Mazibuko, Bathabile Dlamini, Malusi Gigaba, Nomuvla Mokonynane, David Mabuza, David Mahlobo, Cassel Mathale, Collen Maine, Siyabonga Cwele, and so on are eligible to serve the people, when they have taken so much away? Whether it is Jacob Zuma or Cyril Ramaphosa who is at the helm of the ANC and the country, the people of South Africa will suffer, and corruption will continue.
As stated, the DA lists represent the country’s beautiful diversity and are testament to our commitment to Build One South Africa for All.
Every day, the DA’s candidates and activists meet at least 20,000 South Africans in its campaign to increase our share of the vote, which translates into bringing the ANC below 60% nationally, retaining the Western Cape and bringing the ANC below 50% in the Northern Cape and Gauteng.
The DA is a growing party, and has grown in every election. We are a party at work both in government and in opposition. As we sit today our Manifesto For Change is being presented at mass rallies in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. This speaks to a party with a message that resonates in every part of the country.
In the 2016 Local Government Elections, we were mandated to change the lives of South Africans in the major centres of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay. All in all, we were given the responsibility of governing 34 jurisdictions (in Gauteng, Western Cape, Limpopo and Eastern Cape) and administrating more than 50% of the local government budget allocation. And with this responsibility we have made great progress in changing the lives of the people of South Africa.
The 2019 General Elections, like the 2016 Local Government Elections, will show that change is possible or in the words of the late former President, Nelson Mandela, “it always seems impossible, until it is done.”
Issued by the DA, 17 March 2019
