DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has taken his jobs pitch to Mpumalanga ahead of the local government elections.
- The City of Cape Town created 418 000 new jobs in five years under DA governance, leader Geordin Hill-Lewis claimed while on the campaign trail in Mpumalanga.
- But, he added, Tshwane supplied unchlorinated water for three weeks, making more than 400 people ill, mostly young children.
- In the 4 November local government elections, voters will choose ward councillors in several municipalities.
- For more political news, visit News24 Politics.
DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has taken his party’s economic track record on the campaign trail to Mpumalanga, urging voters to replicate the City of Cape Town’s success by electing DA-run municipalities in the 4 November local government elections.
Speaking at a rally in the province on Saturday, he focused heavily on job creation statistics, claiming that Cape Town has added 418 000 jobs over the past five years under DA governance – accounting for nearly half of all employment growth across South Africa’s eight metropolitan municipalities.
“We’ve created 418 000 new jobs in one DA-run metro. That is the same number of new jobs as the other seven major metros combined,” Hill-Lewis told supporters, positioning economic opportunity as the centrepiece of the DA’s pitch to voters.
According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey data from the first quarter of 2022 to the second quarter of 2026, Cape Town created more jobs than Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg, Buffalo City, Nelson Mandela Bay and Mangaung combined during that period.
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The DA leader’s Mpumalanga visit comes as the party seeks to expand its municipal footprint beyond the Western Cape, where it governs Cape Town and several other municipalities.
Hill-Lewis framed the elections as an opportunity for residents to access the same service delivery and economic benefits he attributed to DA governance.
In a direct attack on ANC-run municipalities, Hill-Lewis cited the recent Bronkhorstspruit water crisis as evidence of the party’s failures.
The City of Tshwane supplied unchlorinated water to residents in Bronkhorstspruit and surrounding areas for three weeks between 24 September and 14 October, triggering a gastrointestinal illness outbreak that affected more than 400 people, most of them children under the age of four.
Hill-Lewis said:
They gave you unchlorinated water for three weeks without telling you. That’s the difference between a government that works for you and one that doesn’t.
The Bronkhorstspruit crisis occurred after Tshwane encountered difficulties with its chlorine supplier.
Tests conducted by the Department of Water and Sanitation on 14 October found extremely high levels of E. coli and total coliforms in water from the treatment plant and local reservoirs.
The City has since deployed 36 water tankers and is appointing Rand Water as an implementing agent to address the plant’s performance issues.
Hill-Lewis linked functional local government directly to economic opportunity, arguing that basic service delivery creates the foundation for job creation.
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“You can’t run a business without electricity. You can’t attract investment without water. You can’t transport goods without decent roads,” he said, outlining the DA’s pitch that infrastructure maintenance drives economic growth.
The DA leader described the province as home to power stations, farms, factories and mines that “keep this country running”.
He referenced the N4 corridor and major centres, including Emalahleni, Middelburg, and Mbombela, as critical nodes in South Africa’s economy.
“This province powers South Africa. You produce the electricity, grow the food, mine the resources. But you deserve a government that works as hard as you do,” Hill-Lewis said.
In the local government elections, voters will cast their votes for ward councillors in several municipalities.
The DA has historically performed poorly in Mpumalanga, where the ANC maintains control of most councils, making the province a challenging battleground for opposition parties.
Hill-Lewis’ emphasis on Cape Town’s jobs data forms part of a broader DA strategy to present local government performance as the key differentiator between itself and the ANC.
In August, he pledged to create an additional 500 000 jobs in Cape Town over the next five-year term if voters return the DA to power in the city.
However, the DA’s claims about job creation have drawn scrutiny.
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While Cape Town accounted for approximately 50% of metro employment growth during the 2022-2026 period, economists note that job creation is influenced by multiple factors, including provincial economic structure, private-sector investment trends, and national economic policy – not solely municipal governance.
The speech’s core message centred on converting support into votes, with Hill-Lewis repeatedly urging sympathisers to ensure they cast their votes on election day.
“Many of you support the DA, but supporting us isn’t enough. You have to vote. You have to make sure your family votes. You have to make sure your neighbours vote,” he said, acknowledging the challenge opposition parties faced in translating sentiment into electoral outcomes in traditionally ANC-dominated provinces.
Norman Masungwini
www.news24.com
