DA leader John Steenhuisen delivered what his party called “the royal state of the nation” in Cape Town.
- DA leader John Steenhuisen spoke in what the party called “the Real State of the Nation Address”, adding that the DA was the best option for South Africans.
- steenhuisen delivered his speech ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address on Thursday.
- He addressed a crowd of mostly DA members and leaders in Cape Town on Tuesday.
DA leader John Steenhuisen believes that people who want to see South Africa “recover” and “growth” should back his party in the 2024 national election.
According to Steenhuisen, the DA has demonstrated its strengths and values and is the only “credible alternative” to save the country from a further “collapse” of the ANC government. The DA leader spoke in Cape Town on Tuesday, delivering what the party called “the royal state of the nation address” ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address on Thursday.
Speaking to a crowd of DA members, its leaders and ambassadors, Steenhuisen said the DA had given South Africans a “glimpse” of how the country could be run with him at the helm in the municipalities where he ruled, including in the Western Cape.
“It is simply this: anyone who wants to see South Africa move away from the failed approach that has set us on the path of collapse and onto a new path of recovery and growth must back the DA,” he said.
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Steenhuisen listed what he said were failings by the ANC government, including the collapse of the Post Office. He said the “most visible” failure was the load disconnect, adding that it was “threatening state failure.”
With the 2024 election drawing near, the DA was the only party offering a “credible, better, alternative path” for South Africa, Steenhuisen said.
added:
There is simply no realistic path to fixing South Africa that does not rely heavily on the DA bringing this proven track record of good governance to the national level.
He said that South Africans only had two options: vote for the DA or the ANC.
“The truth is that there are only two realistic possibilities on the table for what South African politics will look like after the 2024 elections. One is the horrific prospect of a government that continues to operate based on the ANC’s failed paradigm of state control, deployment of pictures and sponsorship,” Steenhuisen said.
“The other hopeful possibility is that of a government that charts a new course, guided by the values and principles of the DA: accountability, non-racism and a firm commitment to the rule of law and a social market economy” .
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The DA leader also criticized the leadership of President Cyril Ramaphosa. He said that when Ramaphosa was sworn in as president five years ago, he promised reforms following the leadership of former president Jacob Zuma. He said that Ramaphosa had not done any of that.
“We all know that there is very little of that goodwill left today and even less confidence that things will get better… Despite all the bravado and public relations, this is Ramaphosa’s true legacy: he has only added five lost years to the nine that he likes”. blame the predecessor on him,” Steenhuisen said.
Speaking at the event, DA leader Siviwe Gwarube said the party had a constitutional obligation to find real solutions.
He said that the party not only saw itself as the official opposition, but felt that its role was to offer solutions to the ruling party and also to provide an alternative vision for South Africa. Gwarube said the DA presented “the real state of the nation” to show South Africans that there was an alternative.
