Let’s work together to give Nqutu the government it deserves

Note to Editors: The following remarks were delivered by the DA Federal Leader in the Nqutu CBD. The Federal  Leader was joined by the KwaZulu-Natal Leader, Zwakele Mncwango.
 
My fellow South Africans,
Thank you for welcoming me into your community here in Nqutu. You live in a truly beautiful part of our country, but I know that doesn’t mean life is always good and easy for you.
I know the challenges you face here in Nqutu. I know how hard it is to cope without the services that so many of us take for granted – without proper toilets, without school transport, and without enough taps to bring clean water.
But above all, I know what unemployment has done to communities like yours. It has robbed many generations of their future. It has forced people to give up on their dreams as they struggle to just get by from day to day.
Unemployment and poverty have left communities like yours broken and without hope.
Just a little way down the road you will find a place that is nothing like Nqutu at all. A place where there are more toilets, more taps and more lights than they could possibly use.
A place where the cattle and chickens live in kraals and runs that cost more than most people will see in their lifetime. A place that took R250 million of your money to build.
You know which place I’m talking about. Nkandla. The palace of President Jacob Zuma. The monument to his corruption that fills an entire hillside while the people around him, in communities like yours, must struggle to put food on the table and a roof over their heads.
Nkandla is big and fancy because a place like Nqutu is poor. That money was stolen from you.
And that’s not just my opinion. The Public Protector’s report on Nkandla found this to be true, which is why we laid charges and called for the President to face the law.
Almost two years ago, on 21 August 2015, the police handed over their completed investigation to the NPA, but we are still waiting on their decision whether to prosecute Jacob Zuma.
And when I wrote to the Acting Special Director of Public Prosecutions, Adv Govender, asking why there has been no action on this, his response was just: We need further investigation.
We all know what is going on here. The NPA are simply stalling to protect Jacob Zuma.
The NPA doesn’t need any more investigation. Two years down the line, all they need to do is make a decision and get on with the work of holding the president to account. Because the president must live by the same rules that we all do.
My fellow South Africans,
A court of law is one way to hold leaders to account, but there is another way too. I’m talking about using your vote, of course. On the 24th of this month you will get to vote in a by-election for a new municipal government.
It’s an important by-election because you will be voting for the entire municipality. Which means you have a chance to say: Hang on, this isn’t working. Let’s put a council in this municipality that can do the job.
But there’s another reason why your by-election is so important. The results for Nqutu in last year’s election were extremely close. So close, in fact, that it made it almost impossible to get anything done here.
The only way to resolve this issue is to give the combined opposition parties a proper majority, so that we can end corruption and start delivering basic services for you!
Your vote in this by-election can play a huge role in bringing stability to this municipality, and improved service delivery to your community.
Whether the DA is the majority party as we are in our metros, or whether we are a minority party like we would be here in Nqutu, a vote for the DA is a vote for good, clean governance.
It’s a vote for freedom and opportunities, and it’s a vote against corruption.
Please use this crucial chance to re-shape Nqutu the way you want it to be.
Siyabonga. I thank you.