The DA is truly South African – Mmusi Maimane

During the campaign season, which pushed the resources of political parties to their limits, the DA, fought hard to present voters with an alternative, which focused on the economy and real jobs.

We also continuously dispelled the propaganda of the DA being a “white party” or that we would “bring back Apartheid”.

This lie was peddled by the ANC, which instead of campaigning on policy, campaigned on dividing South Africa along racial lines. This narrow and false narrative is expected from our political opponents across the parliamentary floor.

In this election, the DA grew by over one million votes, and in Gauteng, our support rocketed from 21,86% in 2009 to 30,8% in 2014. With this in mind, we should note that the DA is the only political party to have increased its support, where other political parties haemorrhaged support. South Africans, black and white are realising the merits of the DA’s policies which centre on “redress, reconciliation, diversity and delivery” or “R2D2”.

Given these facts, it is surprising to read Elvis Masoga (a so-called political analyst) waffle on in a piece, where he asks “could the Democratic Alliance bring back the Apartheid system?”

The simple answer to this question is “no”, but for the benefit of Mr Masoga, I will lay out why his question is without merit and is irrelevant. In 2009, the DA was given a mandate by voters to govern the Western Cape, where, through various interventions, we turned the province around.

We created a province that catered for its residents, especially the poorest of the poor, who due to the crime of Apartheid were locked out of the realm of opportunities.

In the 2014 election, voters in the Western Cape renewed this mandate, with an increased majority. And in the same light, our national support grew. This is not to say that the DA-governed Western Cape is a perfect province, but it is the best in every regard, especially when it comes to delivering quality services to previously disadvantaged citizens, who are black.

The DA’s voters and members are in their majority black. We would not be able to register electoral growth if black South Africans did not vote for the DA.

Our leadership structures are not “lily- white”, as Mr Masoga falsely states; our leaders are from every corner of the country and represent the diversity of the country, which no other political party can boast of.

The DA’s journey is far from complete, and we will continue to grow in every election despite what misinformation our detractors write in newspapers or utter on television and radio.

Our job is to give South Africans – black and white – an alternative, which is marked by quality service delivery, job creation and clean governance.

Mmusi Maimane

DA parliamentary leader