The following speech was delivered by John Steenhuisen MP at the DA’s eThekwini Mayoral Candidate announcement
My fellow South Africans,
Good morning to all who have gathered here in Chatsworth.
It is a privilege to stand before you today, in the city that raised me, shaped me, and gave me the honour of serving as a Councillor for nearly a decade. Durban is not just where I grew up – it is my home, my family, my community. And because I love this city, I cannot stand by while it falls apart.
This city and the whole of South Africa stand at a crossroads. The country is waking up to the realisation that only the DA can govern effectively. Only the DA can manage hard-earned taxpayers’ money to make sure that every cent goes towards better services. Only the DA can turn around thirty years of disastrous rule that has left us with a broken system that can’t supply water and electricity properly, can’t fix the roads and can’t make the streets safe.
Even President Cyril Ramaphosa has woken up to the truth. He recently told ANC councillors they must learn from the DA, the party that knows how to govern. But Ramaphosa is wrong because he thinks the ANC can be fixed. The ANC is built on the rot of corruption and cadre deployment, and it can never be fixed. It must be voted out and replaced by the DA, which has shown time and time again how to run cities.
The Cape Town metro has achieved 21 unqualified audits since the 2003/4 financial year. Its financial statements are open to scrutiny on its website.
Midvaal received its 11th consecutive clean audit in the 2023/4 financial year.
The uMngeni Municipality, just up the road, which is run by the DA, has been ranked the best-performing municipality in KwaZulu-Natal for household access to essential services, according to the Provincial Spatial Integration Report 2024/25.
Where the DA governs the best pro-poor programmes have been implemented, helping the elderly pay for water and electricity, improving lighting and roads in the most neglected areas to make them safer.
I don’t need to tell you that the opposite is true where the ANC rules. Over the last few years KZN has endured trauma – from unrest and looting, to floods and natural disasters. But in those dark times, it was not government that saved you. It was you – the people of this province.
In fact, in the midst of all these challenges, people of Ethekwini have also had to endure a government that fails to deliver the most basic of services. Basic sanitation, a reliable supply of clean water and electricity. Instead, you have to endure sewerage in your streets, rolling blackouts, and a water mafia which holds the city to ransom.
Yet, throughout all these hardships, when crisis struck, the people of Ethekwini came together to share their food, their time, their energy, their resources – proving that the true strength of eThekwini lies not in government, but in its people. That spirit of resilience is what makes this city extraordinary.
But friends, resilience is not enough. You deserve a government that matches the strength of its people, one that gets the basics right. One that keeps sewage in the pipes, not flowing through our rivers and streets. One that delivers clean water in taps, not tankers run by the water mafia. One that maintains electricity grids, instead of looking away while illegal connections plunge us into darkness. One that fixes roads, not their own pockets.
That is what this election is about. Nothing more. Nothing less. The basics.
For too long, communities like Chatsworth, Phoenix, Umlazi and Inanda have been forced to live with broken streets, broken services, broken promises. For too long, opportunities have been snatched away from our young people. For too long, corruption has stolen what belongs to you.
Yes, these are desperate times. And desperate times tempt people to look for something radical. But we know the truth, the MK and the EFF are not builders, they are breakers. They are looters. They have no plan, no vision, no interest in serving you. Their mission is simple, to take what you have, and leave you with nothing.
We also know the danger of small pop-up parties. They may promise change, but they don’t have the numbers or the strength to govern. In the end, their votes are bought, bullied or bent into supporting the very looters and breakers we must keep out. A vote for them is a vote wasted, and in this election, wasted votes could cost us our city.
Friends, I cannot say this strongly enough, every single vote matters. In uMngeni, the DA won by only 42 votes, and today it stands as the best-run municipality in this province. Imagine what we can do if we win here in Ethekwini. Imagine what it would mean for Durban if we turned resilience into renewal.
The DA has a plan. The DA has a track record. The DA delivers. Don’t take my word for it, take the Auditor-General’s, take the President’s, or simply drive up the road to uMngeni.
There, under Chris Pappas and Sandile Mnikathi, 94% of households have access to basic services, better than anywhere else in KZN. Roads are fixed. Streetlights are on. Water flows. Refuse is collected. Living conditions improve. That is the DA difference.
That is what we must bring here to eThekwini. That is what we will bring here.
And today, with great pride, I announce the DA’s candidate for Mayor of eThekwini – a man who knows your struggles, who has served you in council, and in Parliament. A leader who has the knowledge, the experience, and the courage to rebuild this city.
Under his leadership, we will restore dignity to our neighbourhoods, invest in our townships, light our streets, fix our water and sewage systems, and make this city work for all its people. Not just for the insiders.
This election is not just another contest. It is a choice between collapse and renewal. Between corruption and accountability. Between chaos and competence. Between decay and dignity. Between building and breaking.
So I say to you, people of Durban, people of eThekwini, the choice is yours, and the moment is now.
Do you want to build?
And so, ladies and gentlemen, it is my honour to present to you the man who together with the hard-working, resilient people of Ethekwini, will help build a city of opportunity. A city that serves its poorest citizens first. A city that embraces diversity. A city where every family can dream of a better future, and every child can make that dream real.
I give to you, the Democratic Alliance’s Mayoral Candidate for eThekwini – Haniff Hoosen!