Roy Jankielsohn

Dear Editor

This is a momentous moment for the DA, on our pathway to Election 2024 as we select Premier Candidates who can win, and who can govern Provinces across South Africa, rescue them from ANC failure and can deliver the DA’s alternative to the people crying out for change.

In the coming weeks, as the DA election campaign surges forward we will announce our candidates for Premier across more and more Provinces – in places we have never had Premier candidate before. This is because, for the first time, these Provinces are truly winnable out of the hands of the party that has misgoverned them for the past 30 years.

The DA’s process to select Premier Candidates is a thorough, open process run by the office of the Chairperson of our Federal Executive, and it involved an open application process, screening, tests, interviews and external assessments. We have supreme confidence in our internal democracy and the systems of checks and balances in our party.

Today, with the announcement of Roy Jankielsohn as our candidate for Premier, we are making a bold statement of intent. Once a heartland of the ANC, the Free State Province is now certainly winnable, and we believe we can form a government in the Province after Election 2024.

The last election, in 2021, saw their share of the vote across the province plummet to its lowest ever and wiped out their majority. And recent polling shows that this can be repeated in the provincial election.

Roy is experienced, committed and skilled. His history and track record shows a commitment to clean governance and zero tolerance of corruption. For more than two decades he has led the fight against ANC corruption and maladamisation in the Province and is credited with exposing mass corruption under the leadership of Ace Magashule and other corrupt ANC cadres.

He offers the people of this Province hope. Roy will work tirelessly to restore road infrastructure, to improve municipal service delivery and to restore health and education services and most importantly investor confidence.

He was instrumental in ensuring that the rightful beneficiaries of the Vrede Dairy Project are now running the project. He was also the lead witness at the Zondo Commission on the Vrede issue.

Roy will prepare to govern through the DA’s Ready-to-Govern process, which is an internal party academy that builds from 23 years of governance experience. From Midvaal in 2000, to the Western Cape Province we won in 2009 the DA has extensive internal knowledge, expertise and best-practice that informs our Ready-to-Govern academy.

Now, over the coming months Roy will campaign all out for the support of the people of the Free State, to vote DA in Election 2024. I charge him to visit every corner and be with every community.

With the support of voters in the Free State, we can elect Roy Jankielsohn to be Premier of the Free State in 2024.

Regards

John Steenhuisen MP