The 3 August local government elections have been described as the most contested poll yet and the DA set down performance requirements from its public representatives: everyone has to do five election events a day.

That includes leader Mmusi Maimane, whose programme last weekend included leading a 3,000-strong march in Tlokwe (the DA briefly governed the council in 2013 courtesy of ANC factional fighting) and a mini-meeting in Itsoseng informal settlement in Johannesburg.

“It’s been very positive,” Maimane told Daily Maverick, while acknowledging that there’s work to be done. “People don’t know what we stand for. They make judgements. (They tell us) ‘We heard you don’t support land reform…’ Not true! Once we explain, people get it.”

Back at Parliament on Monday, Maimane released “The DA’s vision for a fair South Africa”, effectively an umbrella document bringing together various sectoral policies. It was finalised at last month’s federal council that brings together various levels of party leadership from across the country. Not that what the document says is quite that new: it’s underlying principles are reflected in the DA’s local government manifesto around the values of freedom, fairness and opportunity.

But while the DA’s fair South Africa policy reiterates these values as the mainstay, and non-racialism as the cornerstone, it also emphasises the need for redress for apartheid injustices. And race remains a central determinant for disadvantage.

“The challenge is how to overcome historical racism and achieve a nonracial society, without continuing to use nonself-identified racial categories as part of policy formulation in perpetuity,” says the document in recognition that race conferred disadvantage during apartheid and colonialism. “For that reason, race does not only serve as a way of defining part of one’s identity as a South African. Whether this is comfortable or not, race also carries with it a shared experience of pain and suffering that must be recognised.”

Tackling race has long been tricky for the DA, which in the hurly-burly of politicking is accused of representing white privilege. In November 2013, at the push of the so-called black caucus, the DA acknowledged race as a “legitimate measure of disadvantage” that needed addressing. It was a key moment that moderated the emphasis on an opportunity society, often underscored by vouchers for education and entrepreneurial activities.

The DA “Vision for a fair South Africa” argues that the “challenge is how to overcome historical racism, and achieve a nonracial society, without continuing to use nonself-identified racial categorise as part of policy formulation in perpetuity”.

And so it emphasises diversity, and inclusivity, rather than mere racial representivity. Diversity is important in the workplace, in black empowerment to broaden access to the economy as it is in land reform to change land ownership patterns. The education vouchers are still there, as are the liberal market economic approaches bound to set trade unions’ teeth on edge, but more space is dedicated to policies to tackle South Africa’s structural inequalities.

Education, one of the “key enablers of fairness”, would mean measures to “promote a more fair chance at accessing life opportunities”, right from early childhood learning. There would be performance-managed teachers and schools, access to sanitation and safe classrooms, libraries and quality after-school care co-managed by government and civil society. Post-school opportunities are centred on greater access to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

Job creation, according to the policy document, relies on policy certainty, a cutting of red tape and a plethora of incentives to the private sector to create those jobs. School leavers may also benefit from work placements to gain skills.

Gender equality, and ending gender-based violence, is also vital, particularly as women carry the burden of poverty in South Africa.

Justice must be accessible to all, according to the DA policy document, which wants more money allocated to Legal Aid South Africa. Courts should be close to communities and have interpretation services, and should make better use of diversion, correctional supervision and community service sentences.

If feedback from door-to-door campaigns is anything to go by, the DA seems to have no troubles with its reputation of being anti-corruption, and trustworthy at being able to create jobs. This may not necessarily mean a vote on 3 August, but could be part of a longer-term push to shift support. The governing ANC since 1994 has won every election by a very wide margin.

In the run-up to the May 2014 national and provincial elections the DA, then still led by Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, touted it would win 30% of the vote. It didn’t. And at 22.23%, DA support, while increased, fell well short of the self-set mark.

For Maimane, the first black DA leader, a positive outcome is important in this election in which the DA has set its eyes on clinching Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay, and to significantly reduce the ANC support in Johannesburg. While it’s clearly a team effort, as leader the buck stops with him.

The DA is only too aware of the ANC machinery, regardless of the lacklustre performance in filling stadiums in Nelson Mandela Bay for its manifesto launch, or this weekend’s four-hour delay in kicking of the Gauteng launch to have a respectable showing at the FNB Stadium. Once the ANC election apparatus kicks in, particularly on the back of trade union organisational muscle, it is formidable.

And so, with the performance requirement of five election functions a day, it’s back to the campaign trail. Only voting day will show how well the DA has been able to sell its message of freedom, fairness and opportunity – and a fair South Africa. DM

Photo: Leader of the opposition party the Democratic Alliance (DA), Mmusi Maimane (L), arrives to address supporters at the launch of elections posters in Pretoria, South Africa, 02 June 2016. EPA/KIM LUDBROOK