Unite behind the DA to secure Cape Town’s future

23 August 2021

Friends, colleagues, and my fellow Capetonians,

It is the greatest honour of my life to today accept the nomination as the DA’s Mayoral Candidate for Cape Town.

This event today is a testament to the vibrancy of the DA’s commitment to South Africa’s constitutional democracy.

Throughout the long and dark Covid winter we all lived through during the past two years, the DA has worked to protect the sanctity of the democratic process.

Even under unprecedented strain, our party’s rigorous selection process ensured that every aspirant candidate had a fair and equal chance to contest for this position in the best interests of the people of Cape Town.

My sincere thanks to everyone who sacrificed their time and energy to keep our selection process on track to ensure that the DA is ready for the local government election.

Where other parties are running scared, the DA says bring on the 27th of October!

I’d also like to pay tribute to the man from whom I today receive the baton as the DA’s mayoral candidate in Cape Town.

Mayor Dan Plato was not only a worthy opponent and a leader who will long be remembered for the courage he displayed in guiding Cape Town though of some of its stormiest times in recent history, but he is also an exemplary democrat in the finest sense of the word.

Dan, ek is trots om te volg daar waar jy die pad uitgelê het, en ek eer jou vir die enorme bydra wat jy tot Kaapstad se vooruitgang gemaak het.

Most importantly, to all the people of Cape Town - as your Mayor, I will work day and night to bring better service delivery to every resident of our city.

No matter where you live, every Capetonian must live in a place that is safe, clean and with access to the services that everyone needs for dignity.

I look forward to meeting you in your neighbourhood soon. In the months and years ahead, we will get to know each other well, as we build our home, our city, together.

In me and in the DA, you have an ally in the quest to secure a better future for you and your family.

We all know that Cape Town works and is already the best-run city in South Africa. But we also know that the failing national government is holding our city back from fulfilling its true potential.

To truly secure Cape Town’s future, we must now do even more than ever before. By uniting behind the DA, we will banish this brutal winter that saw so many of us lose so much, and we will make sure that spring comes again in Cape Town.

Thank you.

Issued by Geordin Hill-Lewis, DA City of Cape Mayoral Candidate, 23 August 2021