Fellow Democrats,
Delegates, activists, volunteers, and leaders of the Northern Cape,
Good morning.
It is a privilege to be with you today in South Africa’s largest province, which is also one of its most strategically important ones: a province that is rich in heart, rich in resilience, and rich in potential.
At the outset, I want to recognise the Northern Cape’s Provincial Leader, Harold McGluwa, whose years of tireless service to this Province, and this Party, is so greatly appreciated.
Harold was Northern Cape Provincial Chairperson from 2012 to 2020 and the Northern Cape Provincial Leader from 2020 to 2025. That is an outstanding dedication in time, service and leadership.
Harold is not standing for any position at this congress, so please can we take a moment to recognise his years of service and appreciate the extraordinary contribution he has made!
We gather not only to elect new leadership and strengthen our structures, but to recommit ourselves to the people of this province, under our slogan: One Province, Our People, Our Future. Because, really, the Northern Cape is one large, diverse and united province whose people are at the centre of all the DA’s decisions and initiatives.
Together, we have one future in this Province: a future which must be sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous for everyone.
The people here deserve safety, dignity, opportunity, and honest government.
And yet, for far too long, the people of the Northern Cape have carried a burden they did not create: irregular services, collapsing infrastructure, rising crime, and a careless provincial government that cannot get the basics right.
So, let me say this:
We can fix this because the DA cares.
How we fix this, has implications for all of South Africa.
We believe that the Northern Cape is at the centre of South Africa’s success, and that drives our interest and the attention you deserve but don’t receive.
Our economy runs through the Northern Cape. Our roads run through it. Our railways run through it. Our future runs through it.
Not for nothing does De Aar mean literally ‘Artery’. Originally this reflected the town’s underground water supply; now it denotes the province’s strategic position.
South Africa cannot function unless the Northern Cape is firing on all cylinders.
And that is why we are here: to ensure that it does by putting you, the voter, at the centre.
Everywhere I travel in this province, there is one message I hear again and again: “We are not safe.”
In Upington, entire streets have been destabilised by drug dens taking over abandoned homes. Criminal elements have moved into derelict properties, terrorising residents, destroying neighbourhoods, and trapping young people in cycles of addiction.
The people of Upington do not want excuses. They want action. And they deserve a government that has the courage to reclaim their communities, so that parents can sleep at night, children can grow in safety, and businesses can operate without fear.
The DA is already driving that change.
We are fighting for stronger, devolved policing powers so that provinces and municipalities with the capacity (like those the DA governs) can take charge of safety directly.
And as part of national government, we are pushing for targeted interventions in towns like Upington, where criminal takeover threatens not just property, but people’s very dignity.
Let us be clear:
This province does not belong to criminals. It belongs to the people who live here.
And the DA will fight to make it so.
Democrats, there is no dignity without water. There is no health without sanitation.
And there is no trust in government when sewerage floods the streets.
In Emthanjeni (including De Aar, Hanover and Britstown) families have endured endless water outages, contaminated supplies, overflowing sewage, and broken infrastructure that never seems to be repaired. These failures affect everyone.
In Gamagara, the sewerage crisis has reached the point where residents live with the daily threat of environmental and health disasters caused by mismanagement and neglect.
This is not how a province with so much potential should function. This is not how a provincial government entrusted with billions should behave.
As we approach the local government elections, the road before us is clear: the people of Emthanjeni, Gamagara, and every corner of this province, must be able to rely on water that flows and sanitation that works.
This is not a favour. This is a basic right. And the DA will not stop until it is delivered.
Democrats, if the Northern Cape is the body’s backbone, then our roads and railways are its arteries. Every truck that carries our minerals, our agricultural produce, our goods to ports…
Every tourist traveling to our parks and towns…
Every worker on their way to earn a living…
They all depend on a road network that works.
Yet this province is sitting with one of the most alarming governance failures in the country: 6,738 incidents of irregular expenditure in the Northern Cape Department of Roads and Public Works, amounting to R3.7 billion.
R3.7 billion that should have fixed potholes, upgraded bridges, maintained surfaces, and ensured that transport routes remained open.
But it does not have to be this way.
The DA has a different vision: A Northern Cape where roads are safe, where trade flows freely, where De Aar returns to its status as a hub of rail activity, where businesses invest confidently, and where infrastructure supports (not suffocates) growth.
And as part of national government, we now have the power to demand accountability, enforce compliance, and ensure that every rand meant for infrastructure reaches the people it was meant to serve.
The Northern Cape is critical for all South Africans.
Democrats, the problems here – like in so many other parts of South Africa where the DA does not govern – are man-made.
They can be solved by choosing a different kind of government.
Where the DA governs (Cape Town, Midvaal, uMngeni, Kouga) we fix what is broken, protect what works, and build what is needed.
We bring clean audits, competent administration, stable finances and service delivery that puts people first.
Because really, the people are South Africa’s heroes. They are the ones that put the DA in government. They are the ones who chose a different reality after 30 years of enduring the same problems. And they are the ones of tomorrow: the people who will continue to chart our country’s free, democratic trajectory.
Freedom, fairness, opportunity and diversity: these values are the foundation stones of a South Africa that works.
And this Congress you are part of the team that will take those values to every ward, every town, every municipality in this province.
The heroes of this new political era are the people, the voters, who stood up and said:
“We want to fix this. We can fix this”
Your belief in the DA made coalition government possible. Your trust put us in national government. Your hard work on the ground ensured that the voices of the Northern Cape were not ignored.
And as we move toward the 2026 local government elections, your role becomes even more important.
Because the fight ahead is not just a political contest.
It is a fight for water that flows, roads that hold, railways that run, streets that are safe, and communities that thrive.
The DA cannot win that fight without you.
Every conversation you have.
Every voter you mobilise.
Every door you knock on.
Every hour you dedicate to this movement, You are shaping the future not only of the Northern Cape, but of our country as a whole.
Democrats, despite everything this province has endured, I am filled with hope.
Because I have seen what can happen when communities take ownership of their future. I’ve seen it in uMngeni, in Kouga and in Midvaal. I’ve seen it in the entire Western Cape Province. It’s no secret that the Western Cape works. All of South Africa knows that. And now it’s time to show that the other 8 Provinces are no different from the Western Cape: they, too, can flourish.
All it takes is a vote.
Today, we recommit ourselves to a vision where we get this province working again.
Our pledge is to put people at the centre of our politics and our policy.
And we will be able to do so because of your commitment to this beautiful province.
Fellow Democrats,
The Northern Cape matters.
Its people matter.
And your work (your activism, your leadership, your dedication) matters more than you know.
Together, we will make this province a place where government works, where services are reliable, where corruption is punished, and where every community has the chance to thrive.
We know it’s the end of the year, and we’re looking forward to a well-earned rest and for time with our loved ones. Nothing is more important.
I want to encourage you to come back in 2026 refreshed and reinvigorated for the fight which lies ahead of us. Local Government elections take centre stage in 2026 and it’s going to be keenly contested.
But I firmly believe that elections are won one voter at a time.
If we make voters feel seen, heard, understood and communicated with, we can continue to change the course of our country for the better.
Together, we can fix this.
Thank you.