“We need change, and we need it now,” Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane said about the imminent national election. Dobsonville was blue on Saturday where the Democratic Alliance (DA) hosted its final rally ahead of May 8. Reminiscent of rainbowism, the DA calls for a united South Africa for all. The official opposition took its final opportunity to remind South Africans of the failings of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). But the DA’s core message says South Africans must be brave enough to vote for change.
“The DA is the only party for all South Africans… We are young and old, black and white. We are Christian, Muslim, Jewish and non-believers. We are men and women, gay and straight. We’re in cities, we’re in villages and we’re on farms,” Maimane said before a crowd of thousands.
Your vote doesn’t express your race, it expresses your desire for change, he said.
There was a note of urgency in Maimane’s voice as he told the blue crowd that the DA is the last hope in a collapsing house of cards. Maimane lamented the South African condition: hunger, the murder of farmworkers and farmers, crime, poor healthcare, and unemployment.
This, Maimane said, is proof of the ANC’s failings. And the ANC’s biggest failure is looting and corruption to line their own pockets.
“I am angry that the very people who were elected to lead us, ended up stealing from us. And what’s most offensive is that they stole from the poor. They took the money that was meant to make life liveable for our most vulnerable citizens, and stuck it in their pockets,” he said.
While the ANC were once the leaders in the struggle for freedom, today they stand in the way of freedom for South Africans, Maimane said. He also reminded the crowd that President Cyril Ramaphosa was complicit in the ANC’s corruption.
The DA leader seemed set on convincing South Africans who habitually vote ANC because of their legacy as the liberation movement to vote for change.
“We are told, by those who want to hold on to power, that we must fear change. They tell us change will paralyse our country,” Maimane said.
Maimane is proposing an alternative. Maimane said the DA’s policies will give hope to despairing South Africans. He painted a picture of South Africa under DA governance.
The party promises corruption-free, honest, good governance. It promises jobs, quality education, grants, good policing, and effectively run state institutions.
For young people, Maimane said: “We will cherish the young people in our country and make it our top priority to give them a future worth living for. This means fixing education, fighting drugs and gangs, and opening every possible door of opportunity for them.”
The DA leader urged South Africans to be brave and vote for change. Whether the electorate buys into the DA’s electioneering and promises, we will see after May 8.
Watch the DA final rally here:
