GEORDIN HILL-LEWIS | Show up for the South Africa we can become - TimesLIVE

In two days, South Africans will make a choice that will reach into our homes every day for the next five years.

On Wednesday, November 4, we can protect the places that work, bring change to those that have been failed, and set our country on a better course. I am hopeful that we will do this.

About the author: Geordin Hill-Lewis is the federal leader of the Democratic Alliance and executive mayor of the City of Cape Town. (Democratic Alliance) This can be one of the most consequential election days in our history. But its promise will be realised only if we show up.

At this point, I know there are hundreds of thousands of South Africans who have never voted for the Democratic Alliance (DA) before who are seriously considering doing so for the first time now.

To them I’d like to say two things.

First, we do not take lightly the faith you’re showing in the DA to fix things. We will not let you down. We will always serve every resident. We will do so with passion and care, we will bring integrity to government, and work daily to get basic services working better for everyone.

Second, you are showing brave and patriotic leadership in choosing a better path for our country. In the coming years, I am confident that there will be many, many others who will join you. In this election, you are setting the example for how we can start to build the country we all know in our hearts is still possible.

You have watched your cities and towns slide into failure, and felt the creeping sense of sadness that it should not be this way. It is time to begin the turnaround.

Local government is where the tekkie hits the tar. It is where you find out whether the people elected to serve you take their responsibility seriously. We have all heard, time and again, that local government is about water in our taps, potholes, streetlights and rubbish collection. That is what this election is about.

Getting our towns and cities working is how we begin to turn South Africa’s enormous potential into a better life for its people.

Our democracy promises every person the chance to build a better life. That promise is made real, or betrayed, at municipal level. A municipality that fails its residents closes the door to opportunity but a municipality that works opens them.

The parties of chaos, violence and empty promises are counting on you staying home [on election day]. Don’t give them that easy victory

Millions of South Africans already experience the difference where the DA governs.

Cape Town has added 418,000 jobs during this past term. Competent government helps create the conditions in which jobs get created and people can get ahead.

There is much more to do, including where we govern. The measure must always be whether life is improving for the people we serve. That is the standard and service mentality I will demand of every DA mayor and councillor.

So to every resident of a DA-run municipality, I have a simple message: We have shown what working government looks like. Now we have more to do.

Please do not take good government for granted. The parties of chaos, violence and empty promises are counting on you staying home. Don’t give them that easy victory. Your vote will cement the progress already made, and give us the mandate we need for more positive change to come.

And my message to South Africans living with municipal collapse is that you deserve better, and you can have it.

The DA offers a government on your side. A government that is honest about problems, accountable for results and determined to make your municipality work.

Only the DA combines a proven governing record with the national strength to defeat the ANC and bring stable government to more towns and cities. Where we can win outright, give us the majority to get things done. Where a coalition is necessary, make the DA strong enough to lead it and keep it focused on delivery.

South Africa’s renewal can begin in the street where you live.

I love this country too much to accept that decline is our destiny. We have the people, the talent and the determination to rebuild it. On Wednesday, we can put capable governments to work in more communities.

But this election will be won by those who show up. If you want a government that is on your side, vote for one. If you want to get your city working for all, now is the time to vote for it.

I ask everyone who wants that future to vote DA in record numbers. Speak to your family and friends and take the time, however busy life is, to vote.

South Africa can work for everyone. On Wednesday, let us vote to make it happen.

This article was sponsored by the DA.