Note: Bheki C. Simelane is a resident of Protea South.

Neither the bad weather nor the lack of electricity could dampen the spirits of hundreds of DA supporters who came to welcome their leaders in Protea South, Soweto. The venue for the gathering, the local sports ground, had to be dropped in favour of the local church due to the bad weather. The event was delayed by more than two hours because the DA leadership first had an inspection of community projects currently under way in the area.

Singing and chanting kept the cold away as DA supporters waited for DA leader Mmusi Maimane to arrive at the venue. About 380 of them filled the local church, the one solid structure in the area, surrounded by hundreds of shacks of all shapes and sizes. A network of illegally connected electricity wires hung threateningly overhead from the church’s precinct.

When Maimane finally arrived, it was already getting dark, but the mood was brighter. He burst into the church joyfully, singing and dancing away as if he had already won the elections. Maimane spoke briefly and made it clear that while the gathering was about everything election, it was also about recognising the work that DA PR Councillor Maureen Mnisi has done for the community of Protea South over the years.

Maimane said the DA was leaving nothing to chance in their election campaign. He said that from Monday they will be conducting more door to door visits and blasted the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), which he said was a scam and the schemers of which would end up in jail. Maimane also reminded the community of the DA’s successes in holding the government accountable. He added that with Nkandla, South Africans were massively defrauded.

“A better life for Zuma means a better life for his cattle. Nkandla misappropriated South Africans’ money,” Maimane said. He warned Johannesburg Mayor Parks Tau to start packing his bags and make way for the DA leadership. “One day is one day, we’ll rule South Africa,” he said.

The DA leader praised his party’s Federal Executive Chairman James Selfe for the party’s successes in court battles against the state. Selfe had a few words of praise for Councillor Mnisi and paid tribute to her great work in fighting to uplift the community of Protea South. Mnisi is seen by many in the community as a champion of the people of Protea South.

However, the glaring lack of service delivery in the area is what caught DA leaders’ eye. The church, the only structure of significance in the area, had not had electricity until recently. “When we approached Eskom they came and made an inferior connection, which is why we still do not have electricity. Their cables are small and (too) weak to supply the church,” said a church leader.

The lights inside the church went on and off as illegal connections were being made by some community members who are still without electricity, just outside the church wall. Maimane decried the neglect of the house of God.

DA Johannesburg Mayoral Candidate Herman Mashaba asked, “Is this what you people deserve?” to which the response was thundering denials. “No!” the people shouted. He also highlighted the high level of unemployment and pleaded with the community to vote for the DA, promising that the party was capable of alleviating the scourge of youth unemployment.

Mashaba said tenders should be cut into small pieces (but didn’t say how) to eradicate the possibility of widespread corruption. “Punish the ANC on 3 August. We want to turn the city of Johannesburg into a city of opportunity and gold,” he said.

Councillor Mnisi sank her teeth into President Zuma who she said had shown poor leadership qualities. “I was shocked to hear Zuma betraying Madiba’s legacy along racial lines recently. I don’t think he understands the Constitution of the country.”

Mnisi said she was aware of the corruption in the allocation of stands. She said stands were being sold for R3,500 to outsiders and as a result deserving community members were being left out. As she spoke some in the crowd were calling the culprit(s) by name and vowing to bring them down. “Vote for us and watch imminent change unfold,” she said. DM

Photo of DA PR Councillor Maureen Mnisi and DA leader Mmusi Maimane by Bheki C Simelane.