Tlokwe will be remembered as a turning point in our democracy

Note to editors: This speech was delivered by DA Parliamentary Leader, Lindiwe Mazibuko MP, at today's Tlokwe campaign event held ahead of this week's municipal by-elections. 

Today I visited several wards in Tlokwe Municipality ahead of the by-elections to be held on Wednesday, 18 September. It has become clear to me that the residents of Tlokwe have had enough of the unparalleled corruption and are ready for clean, transparent governance.

Under former Mayor Maphetle, they endured a government more determined to put political cronies ahead of what is best for the people of Tlokwe. The facts speak for themselves. Mr Maphetle is facing 16 charges of alleged corruption, which include re-directing R300 000 from the municipality's poverty relief fund to sponsor a jazz festival, and irregularly spending over R700 000 on a customized Mercedes-Benz for himself to drive.

This while the people of Ikageng continue to live in dire poverty, with service delivery failures so numerous there is not enough time to list them.

What was the ANC's response to this? Did they remove him? Did they stand up for the people and put what is best for them first?

The answer was a resounding ‘no'. It is now visible for all the people to see that the ANC came out in support of the ‘Mercedes Mayor'. In doing so they sent a clear message to the people: ‘What is best for you does not matter.'

The ANC should be ashamed. 

I share your anger. I share your sense of betrayal. How can you not feel wronged when a party that you have spent your lifetime supporting turned their backs on you so callously?

The root of the problem is that the ‘Mercedes Mayor' and his political masters in Luthuli House are arrogant. They thought to themselves: "Let him steal from the poor; let him take what really belongs to the people of Tlokwe, because there is nothing anyone can do to stop him. The people will support him blindly."

And here lies the significance of Tlokwe. This is why your town will be remembered in our history books for centuries to come as the town that said ‘enough is enough'.

You did not sit back and let this abuse continue. You broke the trend. You said if our ‘Mercedes Mayor' will steal from us, then we will give him the boot. And you did; you resoundingly voted him out in council and put in place an alternative government.

You make me proud to be a South African. You give me hope in the strength of our democracy because it shows that we, as a people, are greater than our political parties. We are a democracy where the people decide.

But, fellow South Africans, you have one last hurdle left - the by-elections coming up on Wednesday. Again, like they did before, the ANC is doing everything it can to return without even acknowledging how badly they treated the people of Tlokwe over the past few years. There is no apology for the corruption. There is no new pledge to put the people first.

They are hoping that you will vote blindly for them again, because like the ‘Mercedes Mayor', they are arrogant.

In fact, instead of promising to once again put the people first, and proving themselves in this way, they are desperately trying to buy your vote, using money that should be spent on you anyway in the process.

The Minister of Social Development, Bathabile Dlamini, is handing out food parcels and organising concerts; using public money - the people's money - to do so. The DA will not let this stand, and that's why we have reported the matter to the Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela.

It is clear, ladies and gentleman, that the ANC has not learnt its lesson. They are showing what they will once again do if they get back into office: abuse state resources and your rights to benefit themselves politically.

So send a message to the ‘Mercedes Mayor' and Minister Dlamini, and their cronies on Wednesday. Let them know that here, in Tlokwe, the people decide, and that you want a government that puts the people first.

You can have this, if you give the DA a chance on Wednesday. 

Where we govern, we have proved that we put the people first. Not too far from here, in Gauteng, the DA has transformed Midvaal to a world class municipality where the people receive top services. And in the brief time we have governed Tlokwe, we have worked tirelessly to increase the quality of service delivery to the people. That is why numerous key vacancies necessary for service delivery were advertised, the municipal infrastructure grant was introduced, and we said a resounding ‘no' to the R700 000 Mercedes-Benz.

But to keep this government, by the people and for the people, you need to do what you have done so bravely to date. You must stand up and say ‘no' to poor service delivery, ‘no' to corruption and ‘no' to being taken for granted.

You must continue on the path you have set Tlokwe on. You must make this a shining moment that the rest of the country can look proudly too.

Statement issued by Lindiwe Mazibuko MP, DA Parliamentary Leader, September 15 2013

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter