DA national leader, Mmusi Maimane, was dubbed the 'Obama of Hlalani' during his walk-about in the poverty stricken community on Monday 21 July.
DA national leader, Mmusi Maimane, was dubbed the 'Obama of Hlalani' during his walk-about in the poverty stricken community on Monday 21 July.
Hlalani was abuzz with excitement as people flocked around the party leader taking pictures with him and asking questions. Introducing Maimane to the enthusiastic residents, DA provincial chairperson, Veliswa Mvenya, said Maimane was sometimes dubbed the Obama of Soweto.
"But today he is the Obama of Hlalani," she said, to cheers from the crowd.
Maimane was in town to discuss the water crisis in Makana and the DA's #Vision2029 campaign.
He also visited families whose homes were damaged by storms in the area in 2008.
Later on Maimane attended a book launch at the Barratt Lecture Theatre at Rhodes University. In his address to the people of the area, Maimane attacked national and local ANC leaders.
"I'm happy to see police around here, because when I'm done here I must visit a crook," he said.
Hot on the campaign trail, Maimane called President Jacob Zuma the biggest crook who is surrounded by smaller crooks, like mayors and councillors. He urged residents to vote the ANC government out of power.
Maimane said he sits directly in front of Zuma in Parliament.
"I don't SMS him or send him a Whatsapp message I tell him straight to his face.
On August 6, I will tell him the message from the people of Hlalani in Grahamstown who feel he has forgotten them," he said.
Maimane assured the people that the DA will continue to take action over Zuma's presidential home in Nkandla.
"Make no mistake about it, we will take Zuma to court."
Maimane says he often meets people who ask him to remove Zuma from his position.
"Unfortunately I can't do that, I wish I could vote a thousand times but it's impossible. It's up to you to use your vote to vote the ANC out of government," he said.
The DA leader told the residents, who recently barricaded roads during service delivery protests, that burning tyres won't change anything. "You can't burn tyres and then go back and vote for them [the ANC]again."
He also told the residents that what the ANC is doing to them is abuse.
"A person can't be born in a shack and die in a shack."
Making reference to the 1994 elections, Maimane said, "In 1994 we voted for Madiba with hope in our hearts, but after [Nelson] Mandela left, people came who said let's forget about the people and focus on ourselves."
Maimane also used the opportunity to hit back at those who say the DA is a white party and that if they get into power they will take away government grants.
"They keep saying the DA is a white party. Where are these white people? If they miss apartheid that bad that they are begging for it. They must deal with that," he said.
Maimane said those who claim the DA take away social grants must bring forward the proof.
"Social grants don't belong to the ANC, they belong to the government," he said.
Maimane said that, if anything, the DA would increase social grants.
"R300 is not enough to raise a child. We would raise that money if we were to get into power," he said.
DA Makana chief whip, Xolani Madyo, who has been a DA councillor since 2000, told the residents that Maimane had come to see for himself how they live.
"We have ANC leaders from Grahamstown like Gugile Nkwinti who hold senior positions, but they don't do anything for this town," he said.
anele@grocotts.co.za
