Changes to boost DA’s election performance
CHANGES to the DA’s KwaZulu-Natal legislature caucus are part of the party’s plans to bolster its performance in the 2019 elections, said provincial leader Zwakele Mncwango.
Mncwango was announced as the party’s caucus leader in the KZN Legislature yesterday.
He said leading the party in the province and the legislature placed him in a position to combine the DA’s efforts at both legislature and constituency level and focus on issues that are central to the party’s campaign and to provide an alternative to the governing ANC.
“It’s important to start campaigning, and to run a success- ful and effective campaign you need to be in a position where you are able to talk on crucial issues that affect the province like jobs, health, education, immigration, corruption and land,” he said.
Mncwango said the two platforms would allow him to connect directly with KZN citizens, create better cohesion between the legislature and constituencies, and ensure that issues are driven across every level within the party’s structures.
“I have a huge responsibility to help the DA drop the ANC below 50% in KZN.
“This will include visiting all the communities so that people there can relate to the work of the provincial government and see the relevance of the DA to their lives,” he added.
As leader of the DA in the legislature it would allow him to ensure that the ANC is held to account, Mncwango said.
“The government of today is not listening to the people of this province, and it will have to ensure that the premier accounts to the legislature, and ultimately to the people of this province,” he said.
Mncwango joined the legislature from eThekwini Municipality’s DA caucus in March. He also aims to bring vibrancy.
“There is a challenge of MECs not attending the legislature, that is something we also aim to focus on to ensure we hold them accountable and put the interests of the people first,” he said.
“The people of KZN deserve much better than the ANC. They deserve the kind of change that only a DA-led government can deliver, where jobs are created; there’s order and peace; and zero tolerance to corruption,” he pointed out.