The following speech was delivered by John Steenhuisen MP at the DA’s Johannesburg Mayoral Candidate announcement:
My fellow South Africans,
It’s wonderful to be with you here this morning in the beating heart of Southern Africa – right here in Soweto! I think we can all agree that we love this place.
I love the energy here. And you know, almost everyone in South Africa has some connection to this city: whether they came here for work, or they have family members who’ve made it home.
So, Joburg is crucial for our country. It simply must work. For too long, residents have suffered through dry taps, sewage spills, power cuts, crumbling roads, and chaotic billing errors.
Fixing these things is a basic function of a municipality. It is non-negotiable. A city as vibrant and resilient as Johannesburg should be thriving, not barely coping.
You know, there was a time when Rand Water was the pride of South Africa. It was the cleanest, most reliable water on the continent. But today, forty of Johannesburg’s eighty reservoirs are failing. Nearly half of our city’s billable water is lost to leaks. Families queue with buckets. Communities survive only because of good Samaritans who drill boreholes.
This is the story of South Africa: decades of neglect under singular ANC rule, propped up by coalitions of corruption. Cadre deployment, patronage, and narrow political games have hollowed out our municipalities, while you, the people of Johannesburg, suffer.
But, my friends, I want to tell you that we can change this!
This is not the end of Johannesburg. This is not even the beginning of the end. This is the moment when the people of Joburg say: the decay stops here, the renewal starts now
We can take back our city!
Because it’s been done before, right here. I want to tell you a story of just how possible it is. It’s a story that many of you here will know very well.
It’s about a boy born in Vrede, in the Free State, over 100 years ago. His parents were farmworkers. He had little formal education, few prospects, and no reason to dream.
But Ephraim, “ET,” “Mshengu” Tshabalala refused to let those circumstances define him.
He moved here to Johannesburg and started out as a forklift driver, then as a bus driver in Sophiatown. In 1946, he took a leap of faith, quit his job, and started his own meat business.
Within five years, he had built a small fortune. He expanded into garages, shops, and supermarkets. And then, in 1968, when the people of Soweto called for the rehabilitation of the Eyethu Cinema, he answered that call.
He invested his money not only in his own success, but in the success of his community.
Eyethu became more than just a cinema. It was a place where Sowetans came together for choir competitions, music festivals, beauty contests, and stage productions. It was a hub of cultural significance.
A place of joy. A place of community.
A place where people invested the most important thing: time with each other.
That is why we are here today, at Eyethu — reborn in 2023 as a modern cultural landmark. Because Johannesburg needs that same spirit of renewal, of belief, and of commitment that Ephraim Tshabalala embodied.
Together, we can change Johannesburg.
Johannesburg is a city of extraordinary people. People who get things done. People whose energy moves the South African economy. It has an R83 billion budget, and everything it needs to thrive.
What it doesn’t have is leadership.
What we have today is not governance. It is decay. And it cannot continue.
The next local government election is not DA vs ANC. It is a choice between decay and renewal. It is about voting against a party that has proven — even to itself — that it cannot and will not put your needs first. And it is about voting for a party that has a proven record of service delivery.
Where the DA governs outright, we deliver. We fix leaks faster, we collect the rubbish, and we invest in electricity and we keep the water flowing through taps!
Don’t take my word for it. The Auditor-General confirms it. And even the ANC’s own President has admitted it, saying: “the municipalities which do best are… DA municipalities.”
What Johannesburg needs now is: honest, experienced, accountable leadership.
But let me be clear: we cannot fix Johannesburg if voters split their support across dozens of smaller parties. I understand the frustration. I understand the temptation to look for something new.
But smaller parties get trapped in unstable coalitions, becoming pawns in political games. They are not strong enough to stand up to corruption, or to break the syndicates that are bleeding this city dry — like the water tanker mafia.
Only a united vote behind a capable, proven party can restore Johannesburg.
I believe in Johannesburg.
I believe Jozi can once again be a world-class African city. A city filled with opportunity. A city that serves its poorest residents while attracting the world’s investment.
That is not a dream. That is a plan. And it can be done.
We know this because we have done it before.
When the DA took over Cape Town in 2006, it was a city going down. Services were collapsing, corruption was taking over, and the poor were paying the highest price.
But with strong leadership, we stabilised the finances, cut unnecessary debt, and channelled funding into critical services like policing, firefighting, and nursing.
We went from spending only 60% of the budget to 96%, tripling maintenance, and spending on what mattered: roads, street lights, pipes, clinics, hospitals and schools.
And most importantly, we gave relief to the poorest households — through free basic services, subsidised housing, and dignity restored.
Townships benefited from new infrastructure, new housing, and real investment.
The lesson is simple: when honest leadership meets capable government, even the biggest problems can be overcome.
This, too, can, and must, happen for Johannesburg!
We are proud of this city. It’s not a playground for corruption. Never again must families queue for hours for water. Never again must we allow this city of gold to be stolen from its people.
Ephraim Tshabalala showed us what is possible when we invest in our communities.
Now it is our turn. We don’t all need lots of money to make that investment. We simply need to vote.
Vote for a candidate who will make this city work. For a Jozi we love, and a Jozi we believe in. Because once we believe again, once we act, this city can flourish.
Can Johannesburg work again? Yes it can!
Can we fix the lights, the water, the roads? Yes we can!
Can we build the Jozi we all love? Yes we can!
And so it is with great pride, and even greater urgency, that I re-introduce to you: a daughter of this city, a leader I believe in, someone we can all believe in — your very own DA mayoral candidate for Johannesburg: Helen Zille.
Thank you!