DA is for all and closing gap

PARTIES SHOULD HAVE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF SEATS

Not voting DA in 2024 is ‘shooting yourself in the foot’.

Political analyst Dr John Molepo raises an important issue in Monday’s article, “Steenhuisen shooting himself in foot with DA’s ‘true Sona’ ”, which is that some areas under Democratic Alliance government appear to be neglected relative to others.

This is a crucial issue that voters require clarity on ahead of the make-or-break, blue-oryellow 2024 general elections.

I wholeheartedly agree with his assertion that “there shouldn’t be a difference between the qualities of service delivery to certain communities”. For this reason, DA governments are working to close the gap.

Khayelitsha

Dr Molepo says I should not shy away from mentioning places such as Khayelitsha and indeed I will not. South Africa remains a deeply unequal society. Cape Town is no exception. Therefore, the bulk of the city’s budget is directed to areas where poverty still defines and limits people’s lives. Here are five major investment areas where Khayelitsha is a prime beneficiary.

The Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (Leap) is a multibillion-rand joint initiative between DA-run Cape Town and DA-run Western Cape to target crime-fighting resources specifically at the most crime-affected areas. Khayelitsha is one of these beneficiary areas, along with Delft, Gugulethu, Harare, Nyanga, Kraaifontein, Mfuleni, Philippi, Samora Machel, Mitchells Plain and Bishop Lavis. So far, 1 300 Leap officers are deployed in these areas, working closely with SA Police Service and local neighbourhood watches to tackle the high murder rate and gangsterism afflicting these communities.

The funds for this initiative had to come from other budgets, as the full policing budget goes to the national government, since policing is a national mandate. The DA is going beyond its mandate because we recognise the pressing need to make these communities safer.

Cape Town’s R120-billion infrastructure plan, which will be the foundation of economic growth over the next 10 years by improving and expanding infrastructure, predominantly in poor areas. The bulk of this investment will be in water and sanitation infrastructure.

Already, Cape Town offers the widest access to basic services, but this plan will secure a life of dignity for all of Cape Town’s poorest residents. It is made possible by consistent good financial governance including a clean audit for 2021-22.

The state-of-the-art Khayelitsha Hospital built in 2012 to address inequitable access to healthcare.

The multibillion-rand world-class MyCiti bus service link to Khayelitsha, which also services Mitchells Plain and Philippi.

No other suburb has more planning approvals for new developments than Khayelitsha. Cape Town is determined to be a “City of Hope” for all, particularly the poorest residents.

For all

It is also crucial to note that a lot of delivery in Cape Town is “for all”. All residents are protected from one to two levels of load shedding through the city’s maintenance and management of the Steenbras hydroelectric pumped storage system.

All residents benefit from its well-run central business district and from its success in marketing itself as a worldclass tourist destination, both of which fuel the economic activity that has kept the city’s unemployment rate so much lower than South Africa’s.

All residents will benefit from efforts to have control of passenger rail devolved to the city.

Gauteng metros

Regarding the Gauteng metros, there are two crucial considerations.

First, is that large coalitions of up to 10 parties are by their very nature cumbersome. Having up to 10 hands on the steering wheel strongly undermines service delivery.

The DA is part of 24 coalitions around the country. The majority of these are making visible progress for residents, but they generally have just two to three parties in the coalition.

To limit the size of coalitions, the DA is proposing electoral thresholds so parties must obtain a certain minimum number of votes before being considered for seat calculations in councils.

Second, is that the time and challenge to fix these metros is underestimated, due to the “invisible” underlying problems, including crumbling bulk infrastructure due to decades of underinvestment, severely constrained finances due to decades of mismanagement and limited capacity due to decades of cadre deployment in the bureaucracy.

Nonetheless, the DA coalitions are cutting and investigating corrupt contracts and slowly trying to rebuild.

Blue or yellow

Realistically, either an ANC or a DA approach will define South Africa’s future from 2024. Either a blue coalition of caring or a yellow coalition of corruption.

I would venture to say that anyone not voting DA in 2024 is “shooting themselves in the foot”.