The Democratic Alliance launched its election manifesto in Nelson Mandela Bay on Monday, seeking an outright majority to govern the Metro.
DA leader, John Steenhuisen, was joined by Federal Council chairperson, Helen Zille, mayoral candidate and provincial leader, Nqaba Bhanga and other provincial officials at the launch at the Helenvale Resource Centre.
This was preceded by a door-to-door campaign, where leader John Steenhuisen spoke to residents about their election offering while being led along by a marching band.
Local residents were also out on the street, while a group of workers cleaned up a section of the road under a poster of the DA leader.
In a wide-ranging speech, Steenhuisen said the DA stands “before the people of Nelson Mandela Bay with a plan in our hand to turn Nelson Mandela Bay into the metro it can be.”
He said the plan will not only give NMB residents the dignity that comes with dependable basic services, decent housing, and reliable public transport but will also open the door to investors, businesses and entrepreneurs, creating jobs for thousands more.
“This plan is our DA Manifesto for Local Government, and it is the blueprint we will use to get cities and towns across South Africa working again,” Steenhuisen said.
He cautioned that other parties would also come with their elections plans, but he said voters need to “look very carefully at what these manifestos say.”
Steenhuisen said it “was easy to promise the world if you have no intention of keeping any of those promises.”
He said the DA plan for Nelson Mandela Bay was a “workable, realistic plan built on a foundation of the many successes already achieved in local government.
“A record of action and a promise of more,” he said.
Mayoral candidate Nqaba Bhanga announced a detailed five-point plan that he said would “bring five years of stability and prosperity to Nelson Mandela Bay.”
These plans are aimed at creating a healthy, safe, efficient, resilient Metro that also creates opportunities to grow the economy, and generates investment and jobs.
“The Manifesto provides real solutions and real strategies that put the residents first, but to achieve that, we need an outright majority government,” Bhanga said.
