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Party atmosphere as DA launches election campaign

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Mmusi Maimane
Mmusi Maimane

The DA’s blaring music was audible from the double-decker section of the M1 highway that links the country’s economic hub in Johannesburg to the seat of government in Tshwane.

Popular artists like Shekhinah and Distruction Boyz introduced the Saturday morning programme ahead of the official opposition’s 2019 election campaign launch, where party leader Mmusi Maimane addressed up to 600 supporters and activists at the Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown.

On a normal day in the Johannesburg CBD parking is a nightmare, but it is even worse when there is a political rally. Nothing less than R50 would secure a parking space around the Newtown precinct.

The DA went big on its blue branding, handing out boxes of T-shirts and caps to supporters at the entrance.

The men guarding the two trucks parked at the entrance to the event kept the area clear in anticipation of more material being delivered.

In his address to the crowd, Gauteng DA leader John Moodey took potshots at the governing ANC, saying its initials actually stand for “another national crisis”.

“I’m here to tell you that not all hope is lost,” said Moodey.

“The DA is about to bring the change that will create one South Africa for all of us. Long live South Africa, long live,” he roared, to cheers from the crowd.

Mmusi Maimane

It was a carnival-themed atmosphere, complete with white inflatable tents and marquees.

There was also a Wi-Fi station, a selfie booth that drew the crowds, and a drone floating above. The least active tent was branded “donations”, although it came ready with card-processing machines.

In another section, supporters were given blank postcards to write their own personal campaign messages.

It was a clear favourite with the kids, who found this area, filled with pens of all colours, most appealing. As did some adults.

“The DA brings changes. Down with a corrupt government,” wrote 61-year-old Joseph Sesing from Vereeniging.

DA insiders told City Press that the party would go big on jobs, crime and border security in next year’s general elections.

They highlighted the fact that the economy was in a technical recession and big industries such as mining were shedding jobs.

“Our approach should be that foreigners coming in to the country should be bringing in specialised skills. Right now, we have foreigners competing with our people to sell vegetables on the streets,” said an insider.

On the basic services side, the DA intends to make lots of noise about offering South Africans better healthcare and education.

Tshwane mayor and DA premier candidate Solly Msimanga is passionate about fixing the healthcare system in Gauteng.

He said he had been in taxi ranks, buses and trains in every corner of the province, listening to the voters, and healthcare was their main concern.

The DA opted for a different set-up at the square, notably doing away with neatly arranged blue chairs stacked in rows.

This time, the audience stood to allow for more people to enter the area and to cement the carnival atmosphere.

At future campaign rallies, cooler bags will be allowed, City Press heard.

Supporting speakers were limited to five minutes of talk time on stage.

Mmusi Maimane

Maimane was expected to speak for less than 15 minutes, but he did not. He marched to the stage just after 11am, introduced to the buzzing crowd as “the next president of South Africa”.

The smoke machines puffed and blue confetti filled the cloudy Johannesburg sky. He danced a little to “umoya wam o ya vuma” (my spirit abides).

Athol Trollip, the former mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay, stepped forward and told the audience that Mandela left South Africa with many lessons about unity.

He said Mandela’s successors were dividing the country, but “we [the DA] are bringing something different”.

Trollip proceeded to read out a list of the party’s premier candidates in all nine provinces: James Sithole (Mpumalanga), Andrew Louw (Northern Cape), Zwakele Mncwango (KwaZulu-Natal), Joe McGluwa (North West), Jacobus Smalle (Limpopo), Patricia Kopane (Free State), Solly Msimanga (Gauteng), Nqaba Bhanga (Eastern Cape) and Alan Winde (Western Cape).

Maimane started his speech with a focus on South Africa’s diversity and an acknowledgement of the past.

“What happened here during the years of apartheid and colonial rule left deep, deep wounds in our society,” he said.

Mmusi Maimane

His speech was filled with nostalgia about the 1994 democratic moment and Madiba.

“Today I want to ask you to cast your mind back to a very specific moment in time. I want you to think back to April of 1994. I want you to try and remember exactly how you felt then.”

His appeal to the workers was that the DA would bridge the divide between business and labour, and push for decent salaries.

To young people, Maimane spoke of better education and training so they could become more employable.

The party’s research had previously showed that voters were averse to political messages that did not give the ANC some credit, and Maimane took care not to repeat the same mistake.

He said that for a while, the new South Africa made progress.

“Communities long overlooked and neglected were given services for the first time. Electricity, water, sewage, roads, lights – the things so many of us take for granted, but which can make all the difference in the world.”

But the progress did not last, he added.

He tapped into people’s anger about cash-for-jobs scandals and sex-for-jobs scandals.

The lack of consequences for corruption had also made people angry, said Maimane, citing ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule and Deputy President David Mabuza as prime examples of people who had been “promoted” despite allegations of wrongdoing.

“All of this anger has started boiling over in towns and cities across South Africa. Our country is on a knife-edge all the time.

"Every protest action throughout this country is a reminder of just how far we missed the target we set for ourselves in 1994.”

After zooming in on the fear that has gripped the nation over the country’s high levels of murder, rape and robbery, Maimane said South Africa “lost our way the moment this government realised it could become rich off the money of the people”.

“When it became clear just how easy it was to take the money meant for the people and put it in the pockets of politicians and their friends, that’s when we left the path.”

He went on to define South Africa as a nation divided in two: people with jobs, opportunities and connections; and people without access to jobs or the right connections.

He promised that the DA would deliver “a South Africa that has dealt with the inequalities of the past, and where everyone has access to opportunities”.

“It’s a simple message: The DA will bring change that builds one South Africa for all.”

Regarding the DA’s campaign strategy, Maimane said the party would “focus on the five key issues of corruption, crime, jobs, immigration and service delivery – what we call our ‘agenda for change’”.

He said the DA would rid the country of state capture and fired a shot at President Cyril Ramaphosa, saying that nothing had changed since former president Jacob Zuma left office and that “our country did not enter a new dawn”.

“The same corrupt people that sold our country to the Guptas under Zuma still occupy the top positions in this new government. No one was ever charged. No one was ever prosecuted.”

Maimane said only the DA was committed to a clean, corruption-free government. “So, when we say we will jail those found guilty of corruption for 15 years, you know we’ll do it.”

He said the DA would “transform the police into a lean, clean crime-fighting machine [and] only hire people with a passion for policing [and] retrain existing officers so they can serve and protect with pride.”

The disbanded investigative units would be reinstated, he vowed.

The DA leader said the party wanted to introduce real, long-term and sustainable jobs.

“Only the DA has a plan to harness the power of the private sector and the power of the entrepreneur to create these jobs.”

The party also wanted to break down South Africa’s state-owned enterprises, he said.

“We have some big plans to achieve this, like a year of voluntary national service for school leavers, and a network of job centres throughout the country.”

He stressed the urgent need to secure our country’s borders, saying it was important to welcome those who wanted to come here legally and shut out those who tried to do so illegally.

“We’ll do so by strengthening our border posts and ridding home affairs of corruption, but also by supporting and caring for legitimate refugees and asylum seekers.

“No country in the world can afford uncontrolled immigration, and particularly not a country where resources are as scarce as ours.

"We need a government that is prepared to lead on this – a government that won’t allow this dangerous powder keg to be left unchecked.”

On the burning issue of land, Maimane was brief, only saying that the land question was about justice and that the DA would “ensure that more black South Africans are able to own land through secure private property rights”.

Popular hip-hop artist Riky Rick then took to the stage and the party continued.

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