Note to Editors: English and Afrikaans voicenotes are attached.
Government’s first duty is to protect the safety and security of every person. For decades, the South African Police Service under the ANC has failed to meet that duty, leaving too many communities exposed to violent crime and too many families without justice.
We see the human cost of that failure in Ekurhuleni. The discovery of the bodies of six women since July is horrifying. My thoughts are with every family waiting for answers and justice. Women should not have to live in fear of going for a run, walking home or simply moving through their own communities.
The DA will act. Under Khathutshelo Rasilingwane, a DA government in Ekurhuleni will rebuild the EMPD into a professional and trusted police service, increase visible policing, target crime hotspots, improve lighting and surveillance, and strengthen cooperation with SAPS and communities.
Nationally, the DA will continue fighting for stronger investigative capacity and for capable local governments to be empowered to do more to keep people safe.
South Africans should not have to organise their lives around criminals. Government must organise itself around catching them. That means better policing, better investigations, safer public spaces and consequences for those who break the law.
November therefore presents a real choice. Ekurhuleni has had years of ANC governments and ANC-led coalitions which has resulted in instability and declining trust in the institutions meant to keep people safe. Another coalition of chaos will not fix this city.
A DA majority in Ekurhuleni offers clean government, professional law enforcement and a clear mandate to get Ekurhuleni working again.
And a DA-led national government will bring the same focus to SAPS. We will ensure competent leadership, stronger detectives, accountability for corruption and policing that puts law-abiding South Africans first, just as the DA has done everywhere it governs already.
Ekurhuleni can be safer. I believe women can reclaim the freedom to move through their communities without fear. And I believe South Africans can once again have confidence that government is on their side.