Note to editors: Below is an extract of a speech prepared for delivery this morning at the Lebogang township in the Govan Mbeki municipality in Mpumalanga. Helen Zille was given a memorandum by the community last year which she personally delivered to President Zuma

Fellow South Africans,

In August last year, you asked me to come and see the living conditions here and I did. I was shocked at what I saw. You had every right to be angry about the way this municipality has neglected your needs.

I thought that things might have improved here by now. I thought that President Zuma might have done something after I delivered your memorandum to him.

But, if anything, things are getting worse. You have no basic services because the people in power have stopped caring about you. They care more about themselves than those they are supposed to serve. It is the same all over South Africa.

It doesn't have to be like this here in Lebogang.

When I was here in August, people said to me: Helen, please fix things for us here. I explained that the DA will do its best to help, but there is a limit to what we can do in opposition. To really make a difference, we need to be in government.

Now, nine months later, you have a chance to bring about real change here. You can make a different choice on Wednesday. You can choose a party that takes your needs seriously. Some people here are so unhappy that they have joined in service delivery protests. That is their democratic right. Everybody should be free to march peacefully in a legal protest march.

But, the truth is, protest marches don't change anything because making a noise doesn't always make a difference. The only way to bring about real change in a democracy is through your vote. It is no good voting ANC on Wednesday and toy-toying on Thursday. If you vote for the wrong party, you only have yourself to blame. Because the reality is that voters get the government they deserve.

The DA is not perfect. But we do our best to deliver services for all wherever we govern. And we are making progress. Slowly but surely, life is getting better for everybody in DA municipalities. That is a fact. Your vote is the most powerful weapon you have. Use it responsibly on May 18. Use it to achieve an outcome that might change your life.

Use it to vote DA.

If we haven't delivered after five years, you can take your vote back and give it to someone else. Your vote is your vote. It doesn't belong to any political party. All we are asking is that you lend us your vote for five years. Give us a chance to show you what we can do here. Put us to the test.

You can choose five more years of poor service delivery and toy-toying. Or you can choose five years of steadily increasing access to housing and basic services. You can choose a better life for all by choosing the DA. So, whatever you do, make sure you go out and vote on Wednesday.

And Vote DA.

Because the DA delivers for all!

Issued by the DA, May 15 2011

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