Freedom Day marks the anniversary of South Africa’s first non-racial election on 27 April 1994.
We honour those who fought so hard to lead our country out of oppression and into democracy. Many gave up their lives in the fight for freedom.
But more than three decades on under a corrupt ANC ruled by incompetent cadres, true freedom remains out of reach for most South Africans.
There can be no real freedom where people face unemployment, poverty, violent crime, failing schools and healthcare, and a lack of basic services.
Under the ANC, the promise of freedom has faded most visibly in the Eastern Cape.
Today, we held a picket at Dora Nginza Hospital in Gqeberha, where recent viral footage laid bare the consequences of a dysfunctional healthcare system.
[see pictures here, here, here, here, here, here and here]
Patients lay neglected in wards and on the hard, cold floor. The video, reportedly taken during visiting hours, exposed the total absence of nurses or doctors, and most alarming, the high care unit even appeared abandoned.
An unlawful medical-personnel strike also recently allegedly led to the loss of lives at the hospital.
This is not an isolated failure but the direct result of neglect, mismanagement, staff shortages, and a lack of resources in a provincial system that is collapsing when people need it most.
We cannot speak of freedom while communities are denied reliable healthcare. A collapsing health system strips people of dignity, equality, and the true meaning of Freedom Day.
On top of a collapsing healthcare system, the province remains South Africa’s murder and rape capital and also has the highest unemployment rate in the country. Across the province, service delivery has ground to a halt.
The Eastern Cape is facing the worst unemployment crisis in South Africa. The official unemployment rate now stands at 42.5%, with 79,000 jobs lost over the past year. Of these 32,000 were lost in the final quarter of 2025 alone.
Our people have no jobs. They are trapped in poverty. They are not free.
Crime, too, continues to tighten its grip. The third-quarter statistics, covering October to December 2025, show that kidnappings and violent crime remain deeply entrenched across the province. In just three months, 185 kidnappings were reported, 1,270 people were killed, and 1,871 were raped.
Our people live in fear. They are being held to ransom by criminals. They are prisoners in their own homes. They are not free.
At the same time, the collapse of services in most municipalities has left communities suffering from ongoing water and electricity outages, crumbling roads, and non-existent sanitation. These conditions rob people of a meaningful life of dignity. They are not free.
The 2026 Local Government Elections are quickly approaching and success in this election is how the DA gains momentum to be a party of government after the 2029 National and Provincial Elections.
An Eastern Cape government with the DA at its core will provide true freedom by stopping crime and corruption, creating jobs, and delivering high quality basic services.
Only the DA will get this province working and deliver real freedom to the people of the Eastern Cape.
Democratic Alliance – Eastern Cape
ec.da.org.za