Maimane extends fiery call for change to Westenburg crowd

In the aftermath of Freedom Day, Democratic Alliance (DA) Leader Mmusi Maimane’s fiery multi-lingual address to an engulfing mass of blue-clad democrats in Westenburg yesterday called for change in South Africa.
Maimane touched down in Polokwane after gatherings in Modimolle and Bakenburg the previous evening and earlier that day respectively. His meetings with supporters in Limpopo came in the wake of the launch of the party’s local government elections manifesto in Gauteng on Saturday.
In his message to a jam-packed hall he touched on, among others, rooting out corruption, fighting drug abuse among the youth, delivery of basic services, construction of infrastructure and unemployment levels.
“These elections are about change,” he stressed. He told those present that they could choose between junk status under the ANC and a future in South Africa, between corruption and clean governance and between a lack of basic services and the party that brought better basic services. “We know the track record of the ANC; they have been tried, they have been tested and they failed. We have been tried and tested; that is why where we govern delivery is the highest in the country. Where the DA governs, things are better.”
Before concluding his address he vehemently stated they had to bring change in South Africa, “the change that President Nelson Mandela dreamt of, the change that takes South Africa forward, the change that delivers services for all. That is the future of this country. Amandla!”
Prior to welcoming Maimane to the podium, DA Provincial Leader Jacques Smalle pointed out that it was their job to ensure they built a foundation now so that the DA and leaders like Maimane could walk into the Union Buildings and take over the presidential office in 2019. Smalle said the party had grown in every election since the dawn of democracy and leaders like Tony Leon and Helen Zille had played critical roles, but Maimane had taken them to a new level and on a journey of prosperity, he emphasised. It was possible for the DA in Limpopo to grow with 84% from 2011 to 2014 and within the first two months after Maimane’s election as leader the DA had written over 150 000 memberships, Smalle said.
“We can stand up on stage and say we are going to win Nelson Mandela Bay, we are going to win Tshwane, we are going to win Ekurhuleni and in Limpopo province I can guarantee you today there will be at least four municipalities where the ANC is not going to get 50%. But it will be your job to make sure that we hold that power and that we control what we need to do,” he declared.
*Read the interview with Maimane conducted upon wrapping up a media conference that concluded the Westenburg meeting in next week’s edition.

Story: YOLANDE NEL
>>observer.yolande@gmail.com

Photo: Mmusi Maimane is engulfed by a blue mass of democrats upon arrival at the community hall n Westenburg yesterday afternoon.