This place may never be the same again

Note to editors: This is an extract from a speech delivered at Ikageng in Potchefstroom in the North West province. Helen Zille was on a walk-about in an area where the rubbish has not been collected for months. Children can be found playing amongst soiled nappies, rotten food, dead animals and faeces. This is one of the wards in which the ANC neglected to field a candidate

Fellow South Africans,

Yesterday we celebrated Freedom Day.

I joined President Zuma at the Union Buildings where we paid tribute to the heroes of the struggle against apartheid. Once again, a national day of commemoration provided a party political platform for the ANC, and only a narrow category of heroes was acknowledged. South Africa's President is everyone's President, not only the ANC's.   When the governing party abuses national events, funded by the taxpayers, for party political purposes, it insults the legacy of people who fought for all the freedoms that are contained in our Bill of Rights. We must remember our heroes by respecting the constitution that was the culmination of their struggle. We remember and acknowledge them all.

And we will continue to exercise all the rights that the struggle has bequeathed each one of us:  to make our choices;  to speak freely;  and to have our rights respected. Our heroes worked and fought for a South Africa free of racial domination, a place where people were judged on the content of the character, not the colour of their skin.

They also dreamed of a South Africa in which every person was valued as a human being; in which every person was afforded the right to live in dignity.  This is the South Africa we are still striving for.

And so the struggle continues. Aluta continua. This is a struggle against poverty. It is about the right to a decent education. It is about being able to take advantage of the job opportunities that arise in a growing economy. It is about people being given chance to live a life they value.

But, at its most basic level, it is a struggle for clean water, electricity, sanitation and refuse removal. Without these things, people cannot move off the first rung of the ladder out of poverty.

That is why this local government election is so important. With the right party in charge, you can get access to these basic services. You can begin the journey towards prosperity. It's all about the choices you make.

You don't have to live like this here in Ikageng. You don't have to live in filth because your council doesn't collect the rubbish. You can make a different choice on 18 May.

Picking up the rubbish is not the only thing that the ANC has neglected to do here in Ikageng. The ANC also neglected to field a candidate in this ward. In fact, a total of 7 wards in the Tlokwe municipality are missing an ANC candidate.

If all our supporters come out and vote on 18 May, we can win this municipality. Let me repeat that: we can win in Potchefstroom!

If this happens, this town will never be the same again. I can't promise you big changes overnight. My only promise is this: the day we are elected to office is the day we start working for you. It is the day that we get this municipality moving in the right direction. We will stop corruption and use your money for development and progress.

This is what we have done in every municipality we govern. No DA municipality is perfect. But life is getting better - for everybody - in every single one of them. It is what we call the DA difference. By getting the basics of government right, we make sure nobody is left behind.

You don't deserve to be neglected. You deserve access to basic services. You deserve a shot at real freedom.

So, whatever you do, make sure you go out and vote on 18 May.

And vote DA.

Because the DA delivers for all!

Issued by the DA, April 28 2011

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