North West Can Work – For Everyone!

The following speech was delivered today by DA Leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis, at the North West Manifesto Launch and Rally in Potchefstroom:

Dumelang, bagaetsho!
Goeiemiddag, Noordwes!
Good afternoon, Potchefstroom!

What a wonderful sight! Look at all this blue!

To Freddy Sonakile, Theo Venter, our candidates, councillors, and volunteers I want to say thank you!

And a special thank you to the activists who have spent months knocking on doors and listening to people. You are the heart of this party.

Friends, I have come to Potchefstroom with a simple message.

North West is a province of extraordinary wealth. But its greatest wealth is not what lies beneath the ground.
It is the people who live above it. It is you who makes this province so incredible.

The tragedy of North West is that it is a province that contributes so much to South Africa but which has been let down by the very municipalities meant to serve it.

From Mahikeng to Matlosana, from Ditsobotla to Madibeng, too many people plan their lives around failures that should never be normal. That water does not run in the taps, roads that have not been maintained, services they pay for but cannot rely on.

Earlier this year, the ANC provincial government declared 2026 “the year to fix local government”.

My friends, what have they been doing for the last thirty years?

How many more years must residents wait? And what have they actually fixed in 2026? Nothing!

North West does not lack hardworking people. It lacks governments that work as hard as their people do.

But today I want to talk about something more important than what has gone wrong.

I want to talk about what we can fix and make right.

Vriende, ons is nie hier omdat ons glo hierdie land is verby nie. Ons is hier omdat ons weet Suid-Afrika kan werk.

‘n Goeie munisipaliteit is nie ‘n wonderwerk nie. Dis net goeie regering.

I know this from my own experience as Mayor of Cape Town.

Good government is hard work, every day. Spending public money honestly. Maintaining what we own. Making sure officials answer for results. Making it easier, not harder, for businesses to invest and employ people.

And the results matter.

Over the current municipal term, Cape Town has added 418 000 jobs. Those jobs were created by businesses and entrepreneurs, not politicians. But local government helped create the conditions in which they could grow.

Now imagine that same commitment to getting things done across North West.

Imagine Rustenburg where the mining economy creates opportunities for more local businesses and young people.

Imagine Matlosana where reliable roads, water and electricity help factories, shops and entrepreneurs get back on their feet.

Imagine Potchefstroom where young people graduate, find work and choose to stay.

That is the future we are fighting for.

And it must be a future for everyone.

Whether you live in a township, a suburb, a village or on a farm, your municipality must work for you.

Whether you speak Setswana, Afrikaans, English or any other language, you deserve equal respect and must importantly you deserve a government that works.

Whether you voted DA before or have never voted for us, we want to earn your trust.

We are the party of the young person looking for a first job. Of the pensioner who wants a safe street. Of the entrepreneur who wants government to get out of the way and let them grow.

We are the party that believes South Africa can work – for everyone.

And friends, working for everyone also means safety for everyone.

People deserve a government that stands with victims, supports honest police officers, and takes law and order seriously.

We are determined to catch criminals, convict criminals, and clean up our communities.

Theo has set out his commitments for JB Marks. He has shown you what local leadership with a plan looks like.

And Freddy and this North West team have built a party ready to work for the people of this province.

But without you these plans and candidates are not enough.

There is one thing no leader can do on your behalf.

Vote.

In just nineteen days, South Africans will go to the polls.

Nineteen days to decide who runs our municipalities for the next five years.

Think about that. Five years of your family’s life. Five years of your children’s lives. Five years in which things can get better—or worse.

And that decision will be made by the people who show up.

So I need every one of you to make me a promise today.

On 4 November, are you going to vote?

And are you going to vote DA?

Good! But I need more from you.
Because if everyone here votes, that is a good start.

If everyone here brings five more people with them, that is how we change this province.

Speak to your parents. Phone your brothers and sisters. Remind your friends. Help a neighbour make a plan to get to the voting station.

Don’t assume somebody else will do it.

Every conversation matters. Every door matters. Every vote matters.

And remember this: hope is not something we wait for. It is something we build.

That is what I see here in Potchefstroom today.
People who have not given up and who are ready for change.

North West, the future is not written for you.

You get to write it.

So let’s go out from this rally and take this message to every street, every farm, every community, every town.

South Africa can work – for everyone!

North West can work – for everyone!

Don’t just hope for change.

Vote for change!

Vote DA on 4 November!

Ke a leboga! Baie dankie! Thank you!