Statement by Geordin Hill-Lewis – Leader of the Democratic Alliance and Cape Town Mayoral Candidate:
Today at Princess Vlei, I launched my third campaign pledge to expand Cape Town’s clean public spaces. In the next term we commit to take even tougher action against illegal dumping and littering, expand cleaning services where they are needed most, and keep investing in the parks and public places that belong to all Capetonians.
Princess Vlei shows exactly what is possible when a local government relentlessly focusses on this basic service. Princess Vlei was once associated with crime and grime but is now becoming a clean, green public space that brings surrounding communities together.
If Capetonians give the DA another stable majority in November, we will Take Cape Town Forward for All by stepping up enforcement against illegal dumping and littering, expanding cleaning services in informal settlements, continuing to upgrade parks, beaches, sidewalks and public spaces, and expanding Safe Spaces and support for people living on the streets.
I care deeply about this because cleanliness is not a small thing. Anyone who has walked with me around Cape Town knows that I will stop and pick up litter when I see it. It is a personal passion.
A clean neighbourhood tells people that their community matters. It makes public spaces safer, restores pride, supports local businesses and gives children places where they can play. We should never accept dirt, dumping and decay as an inevitable part of life in a South African city.
Too many governments in South Africa have allowed people to become accustomed to lower standards, as though broken, dirty and unsafe is simply the best we can do. The DA rejects that completely. Princess Vlei proves that when communities care, political leaders champion a cause and government actually invests and delivers, decline can be reversed.
That is the standard the DA will take to more towns and cities, and ultimately into a DA-led national government come 2029.
