South Africa’s latest jobs numbers are another reminder of the enormous task before us. Unemployment has risen to 33.7%, with 8.6 million South Africans without work. Compared with a year ago, our country has 215 000 fewer people in employment and 571 000 more people unemployed.
That is why the outcome of last week’s election matters so much. South Africans have given us an historic opportunity to turn around towns and cities that have been badly governed for far too long. We must take it. We must now rise to the occasion.
Our towns and cities desperately need long, sustained progress under inclusive, capable and honest leadership. They need stable governments that get water into people’s taps, deliver reliable basic services, make streets safer, manage public money properly, and create the conditions in which businesses can invest, grow and create jobs.
The DA wants to work with parties that share a serious commitment to good government for all. That means stable leadership, clean government, appointments based on merit, responsible financial management, and measurable improvements in the services residents rely on every day. We will hold ourselves, and every partner in a government we lead, to the same high standard.
This moment is bigger than any one party. South Africans have given us a mandate to make local government work again, and with that mandate comes a responsibility to rise above narrow party interests. As the party entrusted with a leading role in many of these councils, the DA is ready to convene parties around a common purpose of stable, capable and honest government that puts residents first.
We will approach this responsibility with seriousness and humility. As I’ve said previously, I invite every party that shares that commitment to work with us. Together, we have an opportunity to turn around towns and cities, restore confidence in local government, and show South Africans what is possible when politics is put in service of the people.