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The following speech was delivered by Geordin Hill-Lewis, Leader of the Democratic Alliance at the third of the “Working For All Tour” stops, in Ekurhuleni.
Sanibonani, Ekurhuleni!
Good afternoon, Tsakane!
It is wonderful to be back here in the East Rand.
And thank you to every single person who has come here today because you believe that Ekurhuleni can be better than it is.
I believe that too.
But before I go any further, I want to share something with you that we are launching right here in Ekurhuleni tonight.
This is the South Africa the DA will build. Where the basics work and where government is on your side.
But before I say anything else, though, I want to speak about the terrible events that have shaken this city and our whole country over the last few days.
We have been shaken awake once again to the horrific reality of violent crime in our country and particularly crime against women.
At least nine women’s bodies have now been found across Ekurhuleni.
Another was found just yesterday morning in Dawn Park.
Police are still investigating the circumstances of these deaths, and they have not established that every case is connected.
We all know beyond doubt that South Africa is not safe.
We all know that SAPS is failing us.
To every family who has lost a daughter, a mother, a sister, a friend or a loved one, we mourn with you.
And we want justice for you.
A woman should be able to go for a run.
She should be able to travel to work.
She should be able to walk home.
She should be able to live an ordinary life without calculating every moment around the possibility of violence.
That should not be too much to ask in South Africa.
That is why this moment in our country is so massively important.
It may be tempting to see this campaign as just being about getting cities and towns to work.
But it is about more than that. We’ve got to get our country on a better path. Who can say truly after this terrible week in South Africa, that we are truly happy with the path we are on?
That is why our mission is so important. The DA exists to build a much better South Africa. And we are getting closer to doing it! It starts in November, but that is only the start.
The promise at the heart of our campaign is actually very simple: We want to get municipalities working.
Because the decline of South Africa’s towns and cities is not normal.
And it is not inevitable.
We should never accept it as our future.
I know from my own job as a mayor that local government is not abstract.
It is whether the streetlight outside your house works.
It is whether the park your children walk past is clean and safe.
It is whether somebody answers the phone when you report a problem.
And it is whether the law-enforcement officers employed by your city are visible, professional, honest and worthy of your trust.
That is what government is supposed to do. And that is what a DA government in Ekurhuleni will do for you.
Because justice cannot wait.
We need to ask how do we make this city safer in the years ahead?
A municipality cannot replace SAPS.
But anyone who tells you that local government can do nothing about crime is simply wrong.
A city controls streetlights.
It controls public spaces.
It controls CCTV and other safety technology.
It deploys metro police officers.
It enforces by-laws.
It can work with neighbourhood watches, community policing forums, private security and SAPS.
And it can make sure that the Metro Police is professional and clean.
You cannot build a safe city if people cannot trust the people that are meant to keep them safe.
The DA under Khathu will rebuild the EMPD into a professional, disciplined and community-focused police service,
They will root out corruption in the EMPD ruthlessly. We have all been shocked by what we have heard about the EMPD at the Madlanga Commission.
I said before that Ekurhuleni is the centre of the mafia state.
And the EMPD is the most corrupt of all the police forces. It is a national disgrace what has happened here.
Julius Mkhwanazi was fired today. Good. Good riddance to him.
But we must ask, what on earth took so long?
And we must ask, how many more other corrupt thugs are still hiding in there doing their dirty business inside the EMPD?
And it doesn’t stop at EMPD. Phineas Manyama, who recently left as head of JMPD, is also facing a slew of allegations of what he did in Joburg.
We have to cut out the cancer of corruption.
We will start by making sure that every senior officer in the EMPD must undergo a lifestyle audit. If they won’t do it, they will be out.
Just like our DA national minister of Education, Siviwe Gwarube, who is trying to establish integrity and good governance in the education department. She has insisted that the Director-General of Education undergo a lifestyle audit. He has refused. But why refuse a simple confirmation that says your lifestyle matches your income? Only if you have something to hide.
Wherever we govern, this is what the DA does. We root out corruption, clean up government, and bring integrity.
So our first job must be to clean up and professionalise the EMPD.
Appoint people because they are capable.
Hold officers to a high standard.
And make it absolutely clear that they are here to protect the public, not the powerful.
Secondly, we need a far stronger visible policing presence in the places where residents are most vulnerable.
That means identifying crime hotspots and deploying intelligently.
It means working streetlights.
It means safer public transport stations, parks and pedestrian routes.
It means using technology.
And thirdly, we must make performance visible.
This is something I believe very strongly about government.
Residents should not simply be told that a new plan has been launched.
They should be able to see whether it is working.
Are more officers actually on the street?
Are broken streetlights in high-risk areas being repaired faster?
Are municipal cameras working?
Government should be able to show you, month by month, whether things are getting better.
That is what measurable government looks like.
And the same standard must apply nationally.
For years, President Ramaphosa and his government have told South African women that gender-based violence is a national priority.
There have been summits, committees, strategies and action plans.
Last November, gender-based violence and femicide was finally classified as a national disaster.
But here is a sharp question that President Ramaphosa must answer. What exactly has he done, since he declared it a national disaster, to actually change anything? What specific steps or changes has he introduced?
I think we all know the answer. Nothing.
A disaster declaration on paper does nothing to protect a woman walking home at night. As we have tragically seen here in Ekurhuleni.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has acknowledged the scale of the crisis. He has also made a bunch of promises.
But the question is: where are the results?
President Ramaphosa cannot keep declaring crises but then all he does is business as usual.
South African women do not need another promise that government takes gender-based violence seriously.
They need a government that actually does its job.
South Africans do not need politicians simply to explain to them what is wrong.
You live it. You know what is wrong.
The real test is whether government can fix things.
Imagine Ekurhuleni after five years of steady, professional government under Khathu’s leadership.
Five years in which the EMPD becomes more professional every year.
Five years in which corrupt officers are thrown out of the EMPD.
Five years in which more streetlights work and public spaces become safer.
That is the standard residents should demand.
And it is the standard against which we are prepared to be measured.
Because I refuse to believe that fear has to be part of ordinary South African life.
I refuse to believe that mothers must simply accept worrying whether their daughters will come home.
I refuse to believe that crime and corruption are somehow permanent features of our country.
They are problems.
Serious problems.
But problems can be solved by serious people, with a clear plan, competent institutions and the determination to do what is right until things get better.
That is why, even on a difficult day like this one, I remain profoundly optimistic about South Africa.
I know Ekurhuleni can work.
I know Tsakane can work.
I know Kempton Park can work.
I know Tembisa can work.
I know Benoni can work.
I know Boksburg can work.
This great industrial heart of our country can work.
And together we can prove that:
South Africa can work – for everyone.
Thank you.