Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Geordin Hill-Lewis says he spent three nights last week in Mitchells Plain on round-the-clock safety patrols, and that residents there have “growing confidence that the DA is on their side”. In a letter published yesterday, where he wrote about his experiences in Mitchells Plain, he also urged voters to turn out in record numbers for the 4 November local government elections.

“Last week I spent three nights staying in Mitchells Plain doing 24/7 safety patrols alongside neighbourhood watches and our Metro Police,” he wrote. He said he joined Community Policing Forum patrols and City of Cape Town safety operations and vehicle checks. He also met residents “who know both the extraordinary spirit of Mitchells Plain and the serious challenges it faces”.

According to Hill-Lewis, a recent News24/SABI survey showed: “Cape Town was the only one of the four metros surveyed where residents believed their city was moving in the right direction.” He said people across the country were “losing faith that local government can deliver”. But in Cape Town and other places where the DA governs, such as uMngeni, Midvaal and a number of towns in the Western Cape, he said, “people can see the difference”.

He conceded that “where the DA governs things are obviously not perfect”, but said the party “does not simply accept these problems as inevitable”. He described rival parties as “empty parties who will say anything to win a vote, but deliver nothing”.

On 4 November, he said, voters could bring the DA’s approach to Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Nelson Mandela Bay, eThekwini, and Mangaung, and asked supporters to encourage their family, friends, neighbours, and colleagues to vote for the DA.