Hill-Lewis says DA will 'fight for Durban' in local elections push
Newly elected Democratic Alliance leader Geordin Hill-Lewis says the party is ready to become a governing alternative
Image: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers
Newly elected Democratic Alliance leader Geordin Hill-Lewis says the party is ready to become a governing alternative ahead of the local government elections on November 4.
Speaking at the DA’s KwaZulu-Natal congress in Durban on Saturday, Hill-Lewis said the party wants to fix failing municipalities, improve services, and tackle crime and corruption.
"Our task is to become the governing alternative in this province. The biggest party in this province. A party that can win and can govern. The DA must be a party that can work with others where necessary, but never lose itself in the process," Hill-Lewis said.
"A party that can enter complex coalition terrain and still remain principled, disciplined, and clear about what it stands for.
Hill-Lewis said the DA is aiming to grow its support in KwaZulu-Natal and prove that it can govern effectively where it wins power.
"That election will not only decide who sits in councils. It will decide whether broken municipalities continue to decline or whether they begin to recover.
"It will decide whether residents get more excuses or whether they get working streetlights, clean water, reliable refuse removal, safer communities, better roads, and municipalities that answer when people call. It will decide the direction of our country".
Hill-Lewis said the DA will build on its record in municipalities such as the Umgeni Local Municipality.
"We must show that uMngeni is not an exception, but a beginning. uMngeni is proof that the DA can govern in KwaZulu-Natal and govern well. It is proof that voters here are ready to choose a different path. It is proof that where the DA is given a chance, we can bring competence, accountability and delivery," he said.
"But we must not stop there. We must fight for Durban. We must fight for eThekwini with everything we have. Durban does not need another empty promise. Durban needs to move forward .And the DA must be the party to do that".
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