DA rallies members at campaign meeting
Not unfeasible that ‘coalition would govern Ndlambe in 2021’
With the general election just weeks away, the DA held one of its “Let’s Engage” meetings at St Paul’s Anglican Church hall last week, with DA leader in the Eastern Cape legislature Bobby Stevenson going through the DA’s manifesto.
Stevenson was introduced by DA MPL Jane Cowley, who said he had spent his entire career in politics, going back to the old Progressive Federal Party.
He was the youngest councillor ever appointed by the PFP and has served four full terms in the provincial legislature, having spent 25 years in Bhisho.
“All of us need to be guardians of democracy and involved in politics in some way. The moment you let your guard down and leave it to someone else, it all slides away,” Stevenson began.
“Everybody thinks it’s the worst time to live in – worse than only the time before,” he said.
“I’m optimistic about the future and the DA’s growth. I wouldn’t still be involved in politics if I didn’t believe in what the DA stands for.”
He said three things were driving down support for the ANC – the state of the economy, corruption and crime.
“Never has the ANC been so close to losing an election on a national scale.”
He said the DA was planning to reduce the ANC’s support in the Western Cape and retain it, and also to take the Northern Cape.
He referred to how well the DA had been doing in by-elections.
Making his point local, he said in 2006 the ANC had won 77% of the vote in Ndlambe, and by 2016 they were down to 62%. In the same period the DA went up from 19% to 31%.
“In Nelson Mandela Bay we went from 24% to 47%.”
“Your municipality is heading into coalition territory. It’s not unfeasible to believe that in 2021 a coalition would govern Ndlambe,” he said.
He described the Eastern Cape as a “broken province”, with much that needed fixing – roads, education,
Former Port Alfred resident Songezo Mabece has been appointed to the presenter’s chair as host of The View Point on SAfm, and is ecstatic about the opportunity.
Mabece’s radio career took off in 2012 when he literally walked into the 567 Cape Talk studios in Seapoint to hand in his demo for them to listen to his work, telling them how how he wanted to be health, housing and water among them.
He spoke about improvements the DA had brought to Nelson Mandela Bay over the two years it governed the metro, from inheriting a municipality in debt to leaving money in the bank.
One of the concerns that came up in question time is how the DA chooses its coalition partners, seeing as how it had lost NMB.
Stevenson said the DA had been betrayed by one of its own members in NMB, but in 2021 was going to campaign all-out for an overall majority.
“Last time I don’t think people were overly convinced we could win, so they didn’t turn out to vote. Now that they’ve seen how we governed, we involved in radio.
“They listened to my demo, after that they got me to do some basic radio training for a few weeks, and thereafter I was given a slot on the overnight show (midnight until 4am). This all happened in a matter of some six weeks,” he said.
“This lasted for about 19 months [between June 2012 and December 2013] before I left Cape Town for Johannesburg.
“It was in Johannesburg that I had expect more support.”
He said two big things were hurting the economy. The first was Eskom, with the impact of load-shedding being self-evident.
“The DA has a plan to fix Eskom. The key is allowing independent power producers to sell to municipalities and to privatise Eskom. Eskom won’t fix Eskom. It will have to come from outside,” he said.
The second big thing hurting the economy was corruption, he said.
“It’s a deterrent to investment. Nobody wants to do business when it involves back-handers and shady business.”
“It’s critical to grow the economy and create jobs.”
He also touched on the need to eradicate corruption in SAPS. The DA to cut short my developing radio career because employment conditions [in another job] did not allow me to do both.”
In 2013 while still in Cape Town, he attended a business breakfast where he met with radio legends such as Nada Wotshela and Andile Noganta.
While he was talking to them, telling them about his interest and love for radio, they inspired him and led him to believe that he definitely had a future in radio.
“Six years since that first meeting, we have kept in regular contact
“As recently as February this year ‘Sis’ Nada’ and I had a conversation with regard to a possible return to a radio career and how I would like to revive it.
“Within a week of that talk, I received a call from SAfm, enquiring about my interest,” Mabece said.
“It took less than a month from that conversation for me to be on air. Nada and Andile have been thoroughly supportive all along, and wants to bring back specialised units, like the anti-drug, anti-gang and rural safety units that former police commissioner Jackie Selebi had done away with, he said.
He said the DA also believed in enhancing police work with technology, like body cams and number plate recognition cameras.
Another policy plank is wanting to secure SA’s borders, as presently porous borders allow easy access for criminal syndicates involved in drug smuggling, human trafficking and stock theft.
At the same time, Stevenson said the DA wants to use social cohesion programmes to combat the scourge of xenophobia, of blaming foreigners for all ills.
In question time, he said securing this opportunity owes itself much to them too, as it does to those who love me.”
“Getting an opportunity like this has been humbling, firstly. I am under no illusions the great magnitude of the honour and privilege it is to host a slot on this major public broadcast platform. I am, as a result, under an obligation to respect the listeners by being diligent in my preparation and polite (yet engaging) when on air,” Mabece said. borders would start with cleaning up the department of home affairs.
The DA also wants to make it easier for tourists to come to SA by cutting down on waiting periods and having online visas.
He reiterated the DA mantra against “wasting your vote” on a smaller party. He said parties like the Freedom Front Plus and ACDP had never had representation in province.
“You vote for them, that vote is wasted – a vote that could have strengthened the DA,” he said.
“There’s no new dawn in SA. Ramaphosa is just the new driver of the same broken old bus, the ANC.
“SA’s problems started long before Jacob Zuma,” Stevenson said. “You can’t change the ANC, you can only get rid of it.”