Fire your government – DA leader

The time has come for voters to start firing and hiring governments that are unresponsive to their needs.

This was the strong message of the Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen yesterday during the unveiling of the party’s mayoral candidates for the 27 October local government election.

The DA and governing ANC both unveiled their battle plans for polls that promise to be a tight battle in the metros.

The DA resolved to oust the ANC in Joburg and Ekurhuleni and to consolidate its power in Nelson Mandela Bay, Tshwane and Cape Town.

Steenhuisen announced a mayoral candidature team he claimed would demonstrate that the DA “gets things done”. They were Refiloe Nts’ekhe for Ekurhuleni, Randall Williams for Tshwane, Dr Mpho Phalatse for City of Joburg, Geordin Hill-Lewis for Cape Town and Nqaba Bhanga for Nelson Mandela Bay.

He said the DA candidates underwent a rigorous selection process by a panel that looked at their skills, knowledge of local government and capacity to lead, among others.

The state of municipalities were dire and many had collapsed under the weight of neglect and corruption by ANC rule. “The situation is not normal, we cannot pretend the state of these cities is normal,” Steenhuisen said.

“What is normal, though, is a government that responds by either fixing these things, or is fired and replaced by another government that is prepared to fulfil the objectives.” Voters need to start firing and hiring governments and there is no other way to undo what has happened to these broken municipalities.

The ANC was yet to nominate and announce its mayoral candidates – a task done by the regional and provincial executive committees. At the weekend, the party’s extended national executive committee endorsed 10 000 ward and proportional representative candidates for the elections.

Regarding the mayoral candidates, three names would be nominated. The ANC considered the candidate’s experience and skills, gender equity, youth participation, and diversity.