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“Lame Duck” Didiza will bring more of the same

After hiding from the residents of Tshwane for the past 4 days while the city burned, it appears that Thoko Didiza has made her first appearance in Tshwane this morning, and we welcome her to the City.

Didiza was joined on the ground by outgoing Mayor Ramogkopa, who she praised yesterday for the job he had done and pledged to “build on the work of those who have come before [me].”

To the people of Tshwane this means Didiza is committing to building on a record of rising unemployment, endemic corruption, inadequate service delivery and rampant crime.

Her belief that Sputla has done a good job shows that she clearly does not understand the problems facing the people of Tshwane.

Didiza is a lame duck candidate who has been deployed to Tshwane by President Zuma to bring more of the same. She will not be able to unite the severely divided ANC local structures in the Capital and will not bring the change we need to move the City forward.

Didiza’s endorsement of Sputla is the clearest indication yet that should Didiza become mayor, she would only pick up where Sputla left off and deliver more of the same – the same broken promises and the same failures to prioritise the needs of the people of Tshwane.

Didiza’s voting record in Parliament shows that she will not challenge the status quo of patronage and corruption endemic to the ANC. She voted to let President Zuma off the hook for Nkandla, and she voted to protect Jacob Zuma from a motion of impeachment after he was found to have violated the Constitution by the Constitutional Court.

Didiza is a protector and defender of Jacob Zuma, and she would only continue to do his bidding in Tshwane.

The people of Tshwane need real change in order to move forward again. I have spent 294 days traveling around my home City hearing from the people how the ANC have failed them.

I met with people who make up the 517 000 residents of Tshwane who are unemployed or have given up hope of finding a job would not agree with her.

I have seen the effect of the R1.88 billion that was lost to unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, which could have been used to create jobs and deliver better services.

I have met with the people of Mamelodi, Hammanskraal and Pienaarspoort, who were promised houses by the ANC but today continue to live in shacks. And the people of Atteridgeville, Kungwini and Eersterust, where gangsterism and drug use fuels a vicious cycle of crime and violence.

These residents would not agree with Didiza that all is well in the Capital. These facts all point to an ANC government that has failed the people of the Capital City and under Didiza they will continue to fail them.

The latest Independent polling conducted by IPSOS shows the DA can win Tshwane as we lead the ANC by 9 points. Only the DA can bring the change that Tshwane needs to make progress.

The DA needs the support of each and every voter to make this City great. Together we can bring change to Tshwane.

 

Solly Msimanga

DA Mayoral Candidate for Tshwane

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Tshwane Violence: cowardly ANC must accept political responsibility

At the ANC’s mayoral candidate introduction today, the ANC failed yet again to take political responsibility for the violent protests that have racked the City of Tshwane, and which resulted in the loss of 5 lives.

They also prevented their imposed mayoral candidate, Thoko Didiza, from answering any questions on the violence in Tshwane.

It is shameful that the ANC leadership, and President Zuma in particular, have still not taken responsibility for the violence.

And it is a disgrace that their mayoral candidate, Didiza, is yet to make a public appearance in Tshwane or engage with those affected by the violence. She has shown no leadership in this crisis and has chosen to remain in hiding while the City burns.

The DA condemns the ANC’s inaction in no uncertain terms. It is as a result of their failure to address the problem created by Didiza’s imposition that Tshwane has suffered from 4 days of violence, destruction and loss of life.

There can be no denying that at the root of the violence is the imposition of Didiza as the ANC’s mayoral candidate for Tshwane by President Zuma and Luthuli House.

We cannot allow the ANC to distance themselves from the situation, or dismiss it as “thuggery” or spontaneous criminality. It is not. It is the concerted effort by a faction within the ANC to destabilise the City.

This was confirmed yesterday by the Hawks, who emphasised that “investigations are at an advanced stage” and that they have “names of people who allegedly orchestrated the violence.”

Gwede Mantashe further confirmed in an interview that the ANC were in possession of names and pictures of a group of ANC members who had met to plan the violence.

This stems from a WhatsApp message that came to light this week implicating a number of ANC councillors who allegedly met to plan the violence.

The DA can confirm that the most violent areas correspond to the constituencies of those implicated in the Court Classique Hotel WhatsApp message.

Other anecdotal evidence, such as the dissemination of audio clips specifically aimed at undermining Didiza, further points to a co-ordinated plan to incite violence.

I want to make it clear that the DA will do anything in its power to aid law enforcement officials to bring those responsible to book and will be providing all useful information in our possession to the Hawks to aid their investigation.

While those responsible must face the full force of the law, their prosecution does not detract from the fact that the ANC as a party is equally to blame.

As yet no political action has been taken by the ANC against those responsible for the violence. We cannot accept this.

The violence is political in nature and requires a political solution. Most importantly, it demands that the ANC accepts political responsibility for the chaos, destruction and loss of life they have caused.

 

Solly Msimanga

DA Mayoral Candidate for Tshwane

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The winds of change are swirling in Ekurhuleni

Note to Editors: This is an extract of DA Ekurhuleni Mayoral Candidate, Ghaleb Cachalia’s maiden speech at the Ekurhuleni Council Chambers, Germiston.

Madame Speaker,

It is one of the greatest honours of my life to stand here today, representing the people of this great city under the banner of the DA in this august house.

In 1994, at the Carlton Hotel, when I stood with my mother, Amina Cachalia, and my father, Yusuf Cachalia, alongside the great Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and many other fathers and mothers of our nation, I also never thought that I would one day have to take a stand against the organisation I grew up in.

The project that we embarked on in 1994 was one of the greatest in history. It should never have gone awry.

This ANC betrayed the legacy of Madiba, my parents, and our founding mothers and fathers when it chose one man over the rule of law, when it used its parliamentary majority to protect the president from accountability.

This has filtered down into major economic mismanagement in this very city. Under the ANC Ekurhuleni has become the second most unequal city in the world.

Honourable Gungubele, your record is clear – 683 000 people have lost their jobs since you became mayor.

A city that should be a beacon of hope and opportunity remains divided.

Over 40% of the people in this city do not have a tap in their own home.

15% of the people in this city do not have a flush toilet.

Almost 0% have no electricity for lighting, let alone cooking.

These failures are why the residents of Makause took to the streets yesterday to in protest at this governments failures to give them even the whiff off a better life.

You can tell what the ANC’s true priorities are when you have spent R130-million on refurbishing this council chamber but have only allocated R100-million to refurbish failing electricity infrastructure in Germiston.

I thought Hon. Gungubele was initially deployed to resolve party factionalism here, but it seems that internal ANC politics has meant that a mayor who claims he has done a good job is dropped unceremoniously.

It is either the case that Honourable Gungubele has failed the people of this city to face this fate, or that the ANC is more interested in internal politics than the needs of the people.

In my view, it is tragically both.

On the 4th of August, residents of Ekurhuleni will no longer be subjected to the political indecision that has wrecked this once industrious region. On the 4th of August a new dawn will rise under the DA and with it, a renewed sense of hope for the future of millions of Ekurhuleni’s residents.

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DA To Once Again Conduct Oversight At Eldridge Primary School

Today, Thursday 23 June 2016, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, Khume Ramulifho MPL, and Ward Councillor Peter Rafferty will conduct an oversight visit at Eldridge Primary School in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg.

The school has been plagued with infrastructure issues since the school refurbishment project started in 2013. Poor project management and an unclear mandate between the Departments of Education and Infrastructure Development has led to misuse of R18 million at the school.

During an oversight visit conducted by the DA earlier this year, it was found that refurbishment to the school was abandoned by the contractor and the work remains incomplete.

The DA will monitor the progress of this project and whether or not the Gauteng Department of Education has successfully renovated classrooms and maintained the facilities.

Date: Thursday, 23 June 2016

Time: 09h00

Venue: Eldridge Primary School, 38 Bokkeveld Crescent, Eldorado Park

There will be opportunities for interviews and photographs.

 

Media enquiries:

Khume Ramulifho MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education

082 398 7375 

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DA To Once Again Conduct Oversight At Eldridge Primary School

Tomorrow, Thursday 23 June 2016, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, Khume Ramulifho MPL, and Ward Councillor Peter Rafferty will conduct an oversight visit at Eldridge Primary School in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg.

The school has been plagued with infrastructure issues since the school refurbishment project started in 2013. Poor project management and an unclear mandate between the Departments of Education and Infrastructure Development has led to misuse of R18 million at the school.

During an oversight visit conducted by the DA earlier this year, it was found that refurbishment to the school was abandoned by the contractor and the work remains incomplete.

The DA will monitor the progress of this project and whether or not the Gauteng Department of Education has successfully renovated classrooms and maintained the facilities.

Date: Thursday, 23 June 2016

Time: 09h00

Venue: Eldridge Primary School, 38 Bokkeveld Crescent, Eldorado Park

There will be opportunities for interviews and photographs.

 

Media enquiries:

Khume Ramulifho MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education

082 398 7375 

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DA Ekurhuleni candidates will bring the change we need

Note to Editors: This is an extract of the speech delivered by DA Ekurhuleni Mayoral Candidate, Ghaleb Cachalia, at the release of the DA’s Ekurhuleni Candidates List launch.

Today it is a tragic reality that Ekurhuleni is the capital of unemployment in South Africa.

Too many people are out of work. Too many people don’t have even the most basic services.

Too many people feel helpless in the face of corruption that sees the government make a handful of people rich at the expense of all of us.

I have visited every community in this metro. I have seen the problems we face first hand and seen its impact on the ground.

I have seen families whose children don’t have a light under which to study, who depend on water tankers that may or may not arrive to give whole communities water. A disabled woman told me that she would like a toilet because she cannot use a pit latrine.

The experiences of this campaign has moved me, and sometimes shaken me, to my core.

I have seen the struggles of small business owners who cannot get city planning approval to expand their businesses so that they can employ more people.

I have heard how the red tape in this metro is stealing business direct from our business community.

In spite of these struggles, what I have seen on the campaign trail is the triumph of the human spirit – that everyone still believes that there can be a better tomorrow, and that if we work together, we can create jobs, cut corruption and deliver services to all our people.

The belief that we are all in this together was the belief of Nelson Mandela. It was the belief of my mother and father.

This belief informs the future that the DA has to offer the people of Ekurhuleni.

I am proud to stand here today to announce the DA’s list of candidates that will bring change to every ward and every community in Ekurhuleni.

The DA has run the most democratic, transparent and open candidate selection process of any party in South Africa. Whereas other parties candidate selection processes has resulted in its members trying to destroy entire cities, our process has produced people who are fit for purpose and respected by our communities.

These candidates are a reflection of the rich and diverse makeup of Ekurhuleni: our youngest candidate is 20 years old!

Our diversity is not just racial diversity, it is about diversity of experience as well. Our candidates bring to the city the actual lived experiences of everyday people.

Our candidates are from all different walks of life, but we stand united in our diversity ready to implement policies that will create jobs, cut corruption, deliver services and bring the change we need to move Ekurhuleni forward again.

The challenge that the DA has accepted – to do the work that turns the dreams people have for their own lives into dreams that are realised – is not an easy challenge.

It is about more than good intentions. With the depth of diversity, talent and experience, the people who have put forward as candidates to our communities will turn these good intentions into real, tangible change that will move our city forward again.

The full list of candidates can be obtained here.

Audio can be obtained here.

 

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Tshwane Violence: Thoko Didiza And Jacob Zuma Must Come Out Of Hiding

ANC’s internal “civil war”

As Tshwane enters another day of violence and volatility fuelled by the ANC’s internal “civil war”, the big question remains: where are Thoko Didiza and Jacob Zuma while the Capital burns?

It is a sign of an imposed mayoral candidate that Thoko Didiza has been nowhere to be seen while ANC violence brings Tshwane to its knees. Didiza’s first action as mayoral candidate was to go into hiding.

The violence in Tshwane is undeniably political in nature, but the ANC refuses to accept responsibility for the actions of its members. The President, and Leader of the ANC, is yet to make a public statement condemning the violence or even to call for calm.

While the Capital burnt, Zuma instead chose to host a comfortable summit.

Restoring calm to Tshwane

Restoring calm to Tshwane requires decisive actions from the ANC leadership. I have called on Gwede Mantahse to intervene, but instead the ANC has chosen scapegoating and blame-shifting over honesty and accountability.

Yesterday the ANC went to great lengths to attempt to dismiss the severity of the violent protests and tried to paint them as opportunistic criminality and thuggery.

This shows total disregard for the clear message from ANC supporters leading the protest: the ANC in Tshwane will not accept the imposition of Thoko Didiza

The DA now understands that branches have allegedly given Luthuli House a deadline of 3 days to find a solution.

ANC Factionalism

The violence has so far caused millions in damage, including the torching of 19 busses, while countless residents of Tshwane are captives in their communities, unable to get to work and school.

If Thoko Didiza wants to retain any semblance of leadership, she must come out of hiding and address the Tshwane ANC violence immediately.

President Zuma must also step up and take responsibility for the violence he has caused.

We cannot allow the lives of the people of Tshwane to be jeopardised by factionalism within the ANC.
Media enquiries:
Motheo Mtimkulu
Media Manager: Tshwane Mayoral Campaign
083 728 0554
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Ghaleb Cachalia To Announce DA Ekurhuleni Candidates List

Today, 22 June 2016, DA Ekurhuleni Mayoral Candidate, Ghaleb Cachalia, will announce the DA’s list of candidates for Ekurhuleni.

The DA has run the most democratic, transparent and open candidate selection process of any party in South Africa.

The candidates that have been selected by the DA to move Ekurhuleni forward again have the ability to bring about the change that the Metro so desperately needs.

Date: Wednesday, 22 June 2016

Time: 14:00 pm

Venue: Edenvale Council Chambers, Edenvale Civic Centre, 75 Van Riebeeck Avenue, Edenvale.

There will be opportunities for photographs, questions and one-on-one interviews.

Media enquiries:

Warren Gwilt

073 601 6144

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Ghaleb Cachalia To Announce DA Ekurhuleni Candidates List

Tomorrow, 22 June 2016, DA Ekurhuleni Mayoral Candidate, Ghaleb Cachalia, will announce the DA’s list of candidates for Ekurhuleni.

The DA has run the most democratic, transparent and open candidate selection process of any party in South Africa.

The candidates that have been selected by the DA to move Ekurhuleni forward again have the ability to bring about the change that the Metro so desperately needs.

Date: Wednesday, 22 June 2016

Time: 14:00 pm

Venue: Edenvale Council Chambers, Edenvale Civic Centre, 75 Van Riebeeck Avenue, Edenvale.

There will be opportunities for photographs, questions and one-on-one interviews.

 

Media enquiries:

Warren Gwilt

073 601 6144

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Vote out the ANC that has brought Tshwane to its knees

Note to editors: The following remarks were made by the DA’s Mayoral Candidate for Tshwane, Solly Msimanga, near his childhood home in Atteridgeville in the wake of ANC fuelled violence that has gripped the Capital.

Fellow South Africans,

Over the past couple of days we have seen ANC factionalism and violence tear this City apart after President Zuma and Luthuli House imposed an outsider, Thoko Didiza, on the City to try and undo the damage done by Sputla’s ANC government.

As a result, communities like this one have descended into chaos as the ANC’s internal battles have spilled onto our streets.

The violent scenes in Atteridgeville, Mamelodi, Soshanguve and Hammanskraal last night attest to the fact that the ANC in Tshwane is today more divided than ever before.

Last night I witnessed first-hand how ANC supporters went on a rampage against Zuma’s decision, torching busses and destroying property. I saw the destruction and chaos they left in their wake.

These are the actions of a party that has presided over the decline of the Capital and now they want to bring in an outsider, someone who does not know this City or its people, to try and clean it up.

But as Tshwane burns, the President at the root of this violence, and the outsider he deployed to this City, have remained silent.

Didiza’s first act as mayoral candidate has been to go into hiding, making no attempts to engage with those she has been tipped to govern.

These are the actions of a dishonest ANC government who would rather see this City burn than take responsibility for a situation that is of their making.

Fellow South Africans,

The events of the past days have demonstrated more than ever why we need change to come to Tshwane.

291 days ago I stood before you outside the Tshwane City Hall and made a promise to the people of this City that if elected, I will bring change to the Capital.

Today I stand before you, outside my childhood home, to reiterate that promise to you.

I am a proud son of Tshwane; a product of this community.

I grew up in these streets, raised by my mother, who struggled to provide for us under a system that was not fair.

She made sure that my siblings and I we went to school and I graduated from Saulridge Secondary School, not far from here, after which I studied at the former Vista University, which would later become part of the University of Pretoria.

Today I still call this City my home and as a proud father of two children I want to see it able to give them the opportunities they deserve.

I am sharing this story with you because growing up in this community has made me the man I am today – a man of this City.

But today I stand in this community ashamed of what it has become under the ANC.

Over the past 291 days I have travelled the length and breadth of this vast metro.

I have met with thousands of its residents, hard working men and women who desire nothing other than to pursue a life of value in a safe community.

These are the people I grew up alongside, but many of them have not been as fortunate as I have or had the opportunities that I did.

The ANC that promised a better life for all at the dawn of our democracy has only delivered a better life for some.

I think of the people of Mamelodi, Hammanskraal and Pienaarspoort, who were promised houses by the ANC but today continue to live in shacks.

I think of the people of Atteridgeville, Kungwini and Eersterust, where gangsterism and drug use fuels a vicious cycle of crime and violence.

I think of the people of Nokeng, Ga-Rankuwa and Soshanguve who struggle without jobs as unemployment continues to rise. Meanwhile EPWP jobs are unfairly reserved for ANC card-carrying members or the friends and family of ANC councillors.

And now the government that failed to deliver a better life for the residents of Tshwane has delivered chaos and violence that is tearing our communities apart.

An outsider imposed by Zuma will not solve this problem; an outsider imposed by Zuma is at the root of this problem.

It is time to put the future of Tshwane first and put the factionalism inherent to the ANC behind us.

It is time to elect an honest and responsive DA government that will not cower in silence when the safety and security of the people of Tshwane is compromised.

Today I make a pledge to this City and its people that as mayor I will be at the frontlines of service delivery and job creation.

I will work tirelessly to rid this City of corruption and self-serving councillors who have brought this City to its knees.

I will not be an outsider looking in, but on the ground among my people, the people of Tshwane.

I will bring the change to this City that its people deserve.

On August 3 the people of Tshwane have a choice between voting for more of the same decay that we have seen in this City, or voting for change.

Together we can win this metro and make it great.

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