Today I unveiled the Democratic Alliance’s latest billboard on Strand Street in the Cape Town CBD which raises a very important question for Western Cape voters: who is the ANC’s Western Cape Premier Candidate?
South Africa is 15 days away from the country’s sixth General Election and yet the ANC in the Western Cape is asking voters to enter the ballot box blind. The ANC wants the Western Cape vote, but has hidden who it intends on appointing to run the province. This is further proof that the ANC has no consolidated approach to governing the Western Cape and no capable candidates to offer.
By using President Cyril Ramaphosa’s face on their posters and billboards, the ANC is not only misleading the Western Cape voter but revealing just how desperate the party is for relevance in our province. One thing is for sure: Cyril Ramaphosa will not be our premier should the ANC gain a majority, and the ANC’s provincial list paints a worrying picture of the party’s vision for the Western Cape moving forward.
Most astounding is the return of Ebrahim ‘Brown Envelope’ Rasool, under whose watch the ANC famously orchestrated an advert campaign calling coloured voters ‘coconuts’ and who allegedly paid journalists to write favourable stories about him and rubbishing his opponents in the ‘brown envelope’ scandal. He was fired as Premier by his own party in 2008.
In the same tone, Muhammad Sayed said in 2015 that “blacks must stop thinking with white brains”, maintaining the party’s reputation for racially divisive messaging.
Perhaps the candidate is Cameron Dugmore, who was caught on camera instigating violent protests and land invasions in the Overstrand region, and has a criminal complaint laid against him for this.
When Lulama Mvimbi lost the mayorship of Plettenberg Bay, instead of continuing to serve residents as a councillor he vowed to make the municipality ungovernable. A court order had to be obtained to keep him from disrupting council meetings and stopping service delivery.
Kama Mesuli doesn’t seem to even want to be in the Western Cape ANC, having claimed that the ANCYL provincial executive was illegitimate after public factional battles.
Perhaps the most worrying candidate is Andile Lili, convicted of violation the Civil Aviation Act by dumping human waste in the Cape Town airport. A multi-party disciplinary committee of the City of Cape Town council found him guilty of chargers relating to the illegal demolition of houses. He was kicked out of his own party for bringing it into disrepute for a period, and even called its entire National Executive Committee corrupt in 2017 – but seems content to appear on its provincial list regardless.
A vote for the ANC on 8 May is a vote for Ebrahim Rasool, or a vote Andile Lili.
ANC corruption and failures in government are affecting residents in the Western Cape. The ANC is unable to keep the lights on, unable to stimulate the economy and create jobs, unable to get residents safely to work and back on trains, and unable to keep communities safe. But the DA has a plan, and a track record.
I will fight for the people of the Western Cape, ensuring that we have a properly run provincial train service, an honest and professional provincial police service, and a job in every home. I will also continue to ensure service delivery excellence across the province, building on the successes which have set a new benchmark for governance in South Africa under the DA’s leadership.
One thing is certain: the DA has a plan for the Western Cape which I will champion on behalf of each and every resident in this province, and I will not allow ANC and EFF corruption to permeate the Western Cape. Unite behind the DA to keep ANC/ EFF Corruption out of the Western Cape. Only the DA has a proven track record and is strong enough to keep corruption out of the Western Cape. We have one chance, every vote will count.
Media Enquiries
Alan Winde
DA Western Cape Premier Candidate
Dirk Linde
Provincial Media Officer
082 459 4885
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