Note to Editors: The following speech was delivered today by the Leader of the Democratic Alliance, John Steenhuisen, during a rally in Kimberley in the Northern Cape.
Democrats, residents of Kimberley, and my fellow South Africans,
It is wonderful to be back in the Northern Cape with all of you today.
Kyk net hoe mooi lyk julle in blou.
Waar’s dit lekker?
Hier’s dit lekker.
Want die blou span is die wenspan, dis my span, en dis jou span.
Our meeting here today, is historic.
Because in just one week from today, we will be on the eve of the most profound breakthrough in the history of the DA.
For thirty years, the DA has worked tirelessly to defend our democracy from the onslaught of corruption and stealing.
For thirty years, the DA has worked to ensure that our dreams are not completely destroyed, so that there will be something left to rebuild with when the ANC’s time runs out.
And that moment, has now arrived.
Because in one week from now, the ANC’s time will run out.
Just eight days from today, the ANC is set to lose its majority for the first time in the democratic history of South Africa.
Dit is ‘n oomblik waarvoor ons al ons hele lewe lank werk.
Die oomblik waar ‘n sterk DA Suid-Afrika kan red.
And, while ANC leaders may still be in denial, we all know why the people are about to kick them out.
The fact that Cyril Ramaphosa has not even realised yet that the people are about to vote his thieves out of power, just shows how out of touch he has always been with the people of this country.
The people of the Northern Cape are about to vote the ANC out, because they are tired of unemployment.
They are ready for a new DA government, that will bring an end to the outrageous electricity tariffs and urban decay in Kimberley, which has destroyed the many small businesses that once flourished here.
They are ready for a new DA government that will end load shedding and the crippling water cuts affecting this province.
The very field we are standing on today, it a testament to the change that the Northern Cape so urgently needs.
For eight years, these schoolground were flooded from the reservoir next door.
For eight years, the ANC ignored the problem, which was destroying the physical infrastructure of the schoolgrounds.
Dit was eers toe die Wildeklawer sport toernooi amper nie meer kon voortgaan nie in ‘n verkiesingsjaar weens die gemors, dat die regering skielik wakker geskrik het.
Dis ‘n skande.
But when a new DA government takes over this province on the 29th May, led by new premier Izak Fritz, the days of ignoring people’s problems will be over.
And it won’t only be at this school.
The DA will bring an end to the never-ending water cuts that threaten the health and lives of people in this province.
Because of ANC corruption, the people of Kimberley, and many other towns, are even forced to spend Christmas without water.
The water crisis in the Northern Cape is an assault on the dignity of the people of this province.
The DA is going to bring dignity back to the Northern Cape by bringing water back into your taps.
But we won’t stop there.
At the very same time that residents no longer have drinking water, Sol Plaatje municipality is drowning in sewerage.
A vote for the DA on the 29th of May is a vote to clean up the lakes of sewerage around this town.
We know that the last ANC premier of the Northern Cape recently admitted on Carte Blanche that it will take his corrupt party 500 years to upgrade Kimberley’s infrastructure.
But you don’t have to wait 500 years for the thieves to be done looting before they start caring about your problems.
If you vote premier Izak Fritz and the DA into office on the 29th of May, we will begin to turn things around within just a single five-year term.
The DA will do in five years what the ANC could never do in 500 years!
The people of the Northern Cape are also ready to elect a new DA government, because they are tired of crime.
Just before I came to this event, I met with the family of the victims of the shocking Hartswater triple farm murders.
‘n Mens sukkel om die woorde te vind om die geweld van sulke plaasmoorde te beskryf.
Die pyn van die families, selfs jare later, is hartverskeurend.
Maar die DA sê vandag: tot hier toe en nie ‘n tree verder nie.
Ons het genoeg gehad van misdaad, insluitend plaasmoorde.
‘n Nuwe DA regering sal die monsters wat ons mense vermoor toesluit en die sleutels weggooi.
As a wave of crime sweeps across our communities, it is easy to forget that the Northern Cape was once the safest province in South Africa.
But the DA will make it safe once again by getting rid of Bheki Cele’s corrupt cadres and building a professional police service that protects the people, rather than corrupt politicians.
We are also going to devolve policing powers down to local level, so that communities themselves can be involved in bringing an end to violent crime.
And we will institute rural safety units to protect our farm workers, our farmers and all of the people who work hard every day to put on our tables.
Aan die plaaswerkers en boere van die Noord-Kaap wil ek vandag sê: dankie dat julle aanhou glo, dat julle aanhou plant en dat julle aanhou bou.
Die DA is aan julle kant en ons gaan saam met julle almal werk om hierdie provinsie te red.
The people of the Northern Cape are also ready to elect a new DA government, because they want working schools to teach their children and hospitals that heal the sick.
This province has the lowest matric pass rate, and one of the highest dropout rates, in the whole country.
What Zamani Saul and the ANC have done to our children, by destroying the education system in this province, is a crime against the people.
The same goes for healthcare.
Over 8 600 people are currently waiting for surgeries because of the chronic mismanagement of health facilitates by ANC cadres.
At the moment, patients are losing their lives because these hospitals cannot even run air conditioners anymore.
A new DA government will fix and upgrade the Robert Mangaliso hospital in Kimberley and the Harry Surtie hospital in Upington – without stealing more of your taxes like the ANC plans to do with NHI.
The people of the Northern Cape are ready to vote the ANC out and to elect a new DA government, because they know that things do not have to be this way.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
For too long, the ANC has forced our people to live in subhuman conditions.
They thought that the people would just always accept it.
But I am here today to tell you that the people have had enough!
And that there is only one party in this country that has proven that things don’t have to be this way.
That party is the Democratic Alliance – and everywhere we govern, we have proven that we can fix the problems that plague the Northern Cape.
While the people of the Northern Cape are trapped in unemployment, the DA-run Western Cape created over 360 000 jobs in just one year.
While schools and hospitals collapse in the Northern Cape, the DA-run Western Cape runs the best public schools, clinics and hospitals in the entire country.
While criminals terrorise communities in the Northern Cape, the DA-run Western Cape has deployed 1 200 of its own law enforcements officers, who have arrested over 27 000 criminals in just four years.
While the people of the Northern Cape drown in sewerage but have no clean water to drink, the DA-run Western Cape provides clean drinking water and sewerage services to poor households than any other province in South Africa.
If you travel from here to the Western Cape, you will not see any of the potholes, the filth and the decay you see in Kimberley and other parts of this province.
That the Western Cape works even as the rest of South Africa crumbles, simply proves that it doesn’t have to be this way.
So I say: the time has come to bring the success of the Western Cape, right here to the Northern Cape!
Vote for the DA on the 29th of May, and we will rescue the Northern Cape just like we have already rescued your neighbours in the Western Cape!
You can have everything the Western Cape, and even more – all it takes is that you vote for the DA on all three ballots next week!
On the 29th of May, the people of the Northern Cape can choose a new way – a better way.
They can choose the DA way.
Where money is spent on the people, not on politicians.
Where jobs are created, where problems are fixed, and where communities are rebuilt.
In this election, we face a serious choice.
The ANC will lose its majority for the first time ever, because the people are tired of their corruption.
You can either get the DA – a big party that plays by the rules, governs well, and creates jobs.
Or you will get the coalition of corruption under the ANC, the EFF and sell outs like the Patriotic Alliance, who destroy and steal everything that they touch.
My fellow South Africans,
Throughout this election campaign, lots of parties have run around making noise, playing games and pulling cheap stunts.
But this is not a game to the DA.
This is a serious election, because it is about our country’s survival.
It is about the survival of your family, and about your children’s future.
The DA is a serious party, with a proven track record of delivery, playing by the rules and getting things done.
We know that this election could not be more serious.
That is why you need to vote for the DA.
A serious party, with the size, the resources and the people to rescue South Africa.
And the good news is that, for the first time ever, the DA can win the election in the Northern Cape, and we can win the election in the whole South Africa, because we have united with our partners in the Multi-Party Charter.
By standing united, and by combining our votes into one big pool, the DA and the Multi-Party Charter are on the cusp of defeating the ANC for the very first time.
So, make sure that you are part of history on the 29th of May by coming out to the voting booth and drawing all three of your crosses next to the DA!
Join the DA’s rescue mission, so that you can tell your children and your grandchildren one day that you were part of the winning team that rescued South Africa from corruption, unemployment and crime!
Because a strong DA can rescue South Africa!
We can do it.
We must do it.
And, together, we will do it.
Thank you.