Cape Town - The dignity and well-being of citizens across the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape as a whole is a critical plank of the DA’s campaigns in the local government election, Premier Alan Winde said on Tuesday.
Winde was speaking in Bo-Kaap where he had gone to support DA mayoral candidate Geordin Hill-Lewis who was canvassing the historic neighbourhood for votes at Monday’s election.
Winde said: “If we don’t get the dignity and well-being of our citizens right, what kind of life can we have?
“We have to create dignity in our environment because sometimes it is not always dignified and these are the challenges we have to work with. These are the things that keep us awake at night,” said Winde.
He admitted there was still a lot of work to be done and said the way to succeed was by creating jobs, which he said was the foundational priority of Hill-Lewis' campaign.
Hill-Lewis said: “We’ll extend the number of safe spaces and shelter beds available for the homeless. I’ve asked the guys in the City to start drawing up costs for how to expand the number dramatically.
“I really believe we’ve got to show care and effort to help the homeless off the streets and back into mainstream accommodation. That starts with expanding the number of beds we have in shelters.”
As the group of DA campaigners distributed pamphlets and DA T-shirts in Bo- Kaap, a resident of the area, who would only give his name as Sadiq, heckled them for part of the way, waving an ANC T-shirt.
Winde and Hill-Lewis were joined on their campaign by the new DA candidate for Ward 77 which covers Bo-Kaap, Francine Higham, who was until recently media liaison officer for Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC David Maynier.
Also joining the canvassing in Bo-Kaap and later in St George’s Mall were ward 47 Hanover Park councillor Antonio van Rheede (DA) and DA MPL Ricardo Mackenzie.
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za