The DA will deliver real freedoms to every South African

Note to editors: This is an extract of a speech delivered by DA Parliamentary Leader, Lindiwe Mazibuko MP, at the DA's Freedom Day Celebrations in Inanda, KwaZulu- Natal.

I am absolutely thrilled to come home to KwaZulu-Natal, and to my home city, Durban.

It is especially wonderful to be here on Freedom Day.

I don't know about you, but I feel something profound is taking place in South Africa.

I feel that the political sands are shifting. I can feel the changing of hearts and minds.

Freedom-loving South Africans are realising that the soul of South Africa itself is on the line. 

As I criss-cross our country, many people say that they are unhappy with the direction South Africa is going in.

And I reply by asking a simple question: what will you do to help change the country's direction?

It is a question that goes right to the heart of why I joined the DA.

Our message to every South African is that where you are right now will not determine where you will end up.

We say that where ever we get the chance to serve, you will receive the freedom to shape your future.

We can promise this because the DA will make sure you get the opportunities you need to get there.

We don't say that the government can do it for you. Rather, we say that the government must enable you to receive the opportunities and freedoms to write your own story.

Today, the DA has become the home for people from many different backgrounds.

Nosimo Balindlela and Patricia De Lille are two leaders from different parties who have embraced the DA's cause with passion and drive. Both played their part in opposing Apartheid.

The rapid growth of the DA among people from all walks of life means that the new politics of change in South Africa is close at hand.

I am immensely proud of the growth of this party; and you are working every day to make it happen.

There are those who say that the DA should strive towards the future, and not speak about our past.

But this would betray those whose shoulders we stand upon today.

South Africa won democracy and freedom not in spite of liberalism, but because of the bravery of liberals in overcoming the crushing legacy of apartheid.

We would not be here today without two of the great liberal sons of this province, Alan Paton and Peter Brown. 

With Selby Msimang, one of the 1912 founders of the ANC, Peter Brown participated in the inauguration of the Liberal Party of South Africa.

This was the first party in South Africa to be founded by both black and white South Africans.

This is our heritage!

Even fewer people know that the renowned editor of Inkundla yaBantu, Jordan Ngubane, eventually left the ANC to join the Liberal Party.

He did so after helping position Inkosi Albert Luthuli to become president of the ANC.

This is our heritage!

And today we are lucky to have the same brand of leadership tested by the heat of adversity, and in the long struggle against apartheid.

Our leader Helen Zille and our federal chairperson, Wilmot James, inspire us all every day because they have invested their love and pain into this country over decades.

And on this very day, we salute our party elder, Colin Eglin, who is receiving the Order of Baobab from President Jacob Zuma for his lifelong service to enlarging freedom.

This is our heritage!

This is why, in 2013, people are voting with their feet.

 The DA today is the only alternative to the ANC.

We are the only party which will be able to lead the next government of South Africa.

We are the only party that will deliver real freedoms to every individual and community.

We are the only party with a solid track record of delivering jobs and essential services; to fighting corruption and crime; and to providing a decent education for all.

We have been delivering for a long time in municipalities across South Africa, and since 2009, in the Western Cape provincial government.

On Freedom Day, we pledge to do the same for every South African.

And this is a day to express pride; pride in those who helped to craft constitution.

In those times, the Democratic Party played a big role in helping our liberal democratic constitution based on non-racialism, equality and tolerance. 

We also proudly remember that parliament played a major role in shaping the new constitution around the ideals of freedom and non-racialism.

We remain as committed to this vision of freedom today as we have over many generations.

The DA loves South Africa.

And we will not cease working until freedom's work is done. 

Thank you.

Issued by the DA, April 25 2013

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