DA Gauteng provincial leader Solly Msimanga has promised that the battle for the 2024 elections has started in earnest.
Msimanga was re-elected to the position following a contest from fellow party member in the province, Khumo Ramulifho.
Msimanga, speaking after the provincial congress on Saturday, said the contest for positions was over and their united focus was now on next year’s elections.
More than 700 DA members voted in the election of new leaders and Msimanga was re-elected as provincial leader.
He first came into office in 2020 and was on Saturday re-elected.
Msimanga said said services were collapsing throughout the province and people want a change of government.
The hospitals, roads, infrastructure and schools were collapsing.
The people were not safe when they were walking in the streets.
They want to have a police service that would be able to fight crime.
Msimanga said they were putting the party elections behind them and will now focus on their political opponents so that they will wrestle the province from the ruling party.
“Democrats, allow me to say the battle is never internal, but external. We need to focus our weapons, we need to focus our energy on the opponent who is ahead of us. We will lose great opportunity if we remain internally focused and allow for divisions to creep in the DA,” said Msimanga.
“The people of Gauteng are saying to us you know what is wrong. The people of Gauteng are demanding an economy that works for everybody and not for some. They are demanding for cities that are able to provide quality services to them. They are demanding police that will face criminals head on. They are demanding that our hospitals provide world class services. They are demanding that the education of a child that is coming from Alexandra will be the same education that the child from Sandton will be getting. They are demanding that our daughters, our mothers and grandmothers are safe when they are walking on the streets. They are demanding an end to infrastructure collapse,” he said.
Earlier, DA leader John Steenhuisen told the congress that Gauteng will be the epicentre of the elections.
He said the party with its coalition partners could take the province next year if the ANC fails to get more than 50% of the votes.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
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