"IF you want to save South Africa from unemployment, load shedding and water shortages, crime, corruption, poverty and hunger, dilapidated schools and broken hospitals, then you must vote DA."
This is the bold statement made by DA leader John Steenhuisen during the launch of the party’s manifesto at the Union Buildings in Tshwane on Saturday, 17 February.
Steenhuisen said his party was capable of taking over the government after the 2024 elections.
Addressing party members, who had painted the Union Buildings lawn blue, Steenhuisen said the DA was launching its election manifesto for the 2024 elections from the Union Buildings to send a clear message.
“We're contesting this election to win it. In this election, we must liberate the Union Buildings from the clutches of a corrupt government and return them to their rightful place as a symbol of pride for all South Africans.”
He said in every previous election since 1994, everyone had known that the ANC would win. The DA's main task in every previous election had therefore been to form the strongest possible opposition to the ANC.
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He added that support for the ANC will fall well below 50% for the first time in its democratic history.
“The demise of the ANC has opened the door for the DA to achieve what was once considered unthinkable: getting into national government. In this election, for the first time ever, the DA has a clear path to victory,” he said.
Presenting the party’s election manifesto, Steenhuisen said key priorities for the 2024 to 2029 term were to create two million new jobs, end electricity and water cuts, halve violent crime, including murder, attempted murder and gender-based violence, fight corruption by abolishing cadre deployment in favour of merit-based appointments, and an efficient state for everyone.
“We'll also lift six million people out of poverty, triple the number of fourth graders who can read and ensure quality healthcare for all, regardless of economic status.”
He added: “Contrary to Cyril Ramaphosa’s desperate efforts to whitewash his government’s failures, the DA manifesto is rooted in the reality of what South Africa is in 2024, not in the memory of what it promised to be in 1994.”
Steenhuisen said their rescue plan for South Africa, which builds on their proven track record, will shine a bright ray of light into the darkness that threatens to blind everyone.
He said it'll not solve all the problems overnight but will put the country back on the path of promise and give them all permission to believe in the great South African dream again.
