DA KwaZulu-Natal premier candidate and uMngeni Municipality mayor Chris Pappas has condemned smaller parties for fostering an ANC government in the province.
Pappas was addressing the crowd as part of the DA Rescue Rally at Curries Fountain Stadium in Durban on Saturday as part of the DA’s election campaign, and also set out his seven pledges for the province if elected as premier.
Pappas stated that smaller parties hinder the possibility of a thriving province that bears the brunt of unemployment and limited access to water and sanitation. Instead they spend time opposing the DA rather than denouncing the ANC in the province.
“We know the urgency required to turn this province around to stop the suffering and to restore hope. But the reality is, that none of this will be possible if we allow the small parties that pop up in every election to succeed.
“The flash mob parties, these popcorn parties, spend more time fighting the DA than opposing the ANC. We have seen it time and again, in eThekwini, Msunduzi, KwaDukuza and in Umdoni. Each and every time, small parties vote with the ANC and keep them in power,” said Pappas.
Smaller parties contesting for KZN include Abantu Batho Congress, the Allied Movement for Change, and African People First.
Pappas’s speech follows the party’s national leader, John Steenhuisen, who labelled rookie parties contesting for the Western Cape – RISE Mzansi, Build One South Africa and the Patriotic Alliance – as political opportunists and mercenaries.
While smaller parties vote with the ANC, Pappas emphasised the blue party continues to soar by cleaning up malpractice and corruption in local municipalities.
He noted that the DA was involved in a legal battle to stop the ANC from siphoning funds from the provincial state. “It is the DA that got a personal cost against the municipal manager in Umdoni, who attempted to steal our council seat in that municipality,” said Pappas.
He further said the official opposition party ousted former uMngeni municipal manager Thembeka Cibane after another legal battle because she refused to leave her office.
The DA also managed to secure a trial date against eThekwini Municipality for the ongoing sewage and water crisis.
Pappas vowed that the DA will fix the water crisis in Ugu District via a pending court challenge. He also praised the DA for taking the Msunduzi Municipality to court after officials misused R27 million of state funds to finance Durban businesswoman Shauwn Mkhize’s soccer club.
Pappas expressed his confidence that the DA will overthrow the ANC and govern KZN. This comes as the IFP and new kid on the block uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) are gunning for governance in the province.
“I believe the DA will stand as the largest party in KZN. When you go to the ballot box, you will have one choice to make, and that is between an ANC-led government in KZN, or a DA-led government in this province,” said Pappas.
The Star