Date: 31/01/2009

Source: Democratic Alliance

Title: DA: Zille: Speech by DA leader Helen Zille at the launch of the party's 2009 election campaign

We're in it to win it!

My fellow South Africans,
I have a clear message for South Africa today:

This time, the DA can win!

Die DA kan wen!
Kulesikhathi iDA ingaphumelela! (This time the DA can win)
Politics has changed. The ANC has split. It is no longer guaranteed majorities in every province in South Africa. When the ANC splits, the DA wins.

The DA can win: research shows it; by-election results prove it. We have won more by-elections against the ANC in the past 3 months than any other party.

We are consolidating support among our traditional voters.

We are gaining support from new voters in all communities.
And we are winning votes off the ANC. Let me repeat that: Sithatha amavoti eANC. (And we are winning votes off the ANC)
The DA is on track to win the Western Cape in 2009.

There is a good chance that we will form coalition governments in other provinces, too.

And that is just the beginning: the DA will govern in towns and cities across the country after the 2011 local government elections; and we will be part of the national government in 2014.

The DA is a party of government. We are in government in Cape Town and in many other municipalities. And where we are in government, we are creating opportunity, speeding up service delivery, and cracking down on crime and corruption.

The DA is a party of winners. So, as we embark on our campaign today, as we count down to Election Day, we have a very clear idea of our mission and our motivation in this election: "We're in it to win it".

We're in it to win it because we want democracy to win. We want South Africa to succeed.

And let me be clear about this. All successful democracies have one thing in common. They are open, opportunity societies.

Societies where citizens have the opportunities and the space to shape their own lives, improve their skills and follow their dreams. Where the government focuses on expanding and promoting equal opportunities for all. Where people are not held back by gender, religion, colour, or prejudice. Where outcomes are linked to opportunity, effort and ability - not special favours handed out by the ruling group in the ruling party. Where people use their opportunities, and create opportunities for others.

That is the society the DA believes in. That is the society the DA offers you. .

There is a very clear choice facing South Africans in this election: we can choose to become an open, opportunity society for all, or we can choose to become a closed, crony society for some.

In the closed, crony society, people's prospects depend on who they know in the ruling party, not what they know. The closed, crony society isn't about creating opportunity: it's about giving jobs to pals and doing favours for friends. A closed circle looking after each other, with less and less for everyone else.

That always leads to corruption and power abuse, and it's the poor who suffer the consequences. Because corrupt leaders make poor people poorer. If you strip away everything else, cronyism and corruption are the root cause of the failed state. And the failed state means poverty and despair for millions. We have seen it happen right on our doorstep, in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe.

The choice between the open, opportunity society for all and the closed, crony society for some is a choice between democracy and despotism.

It's a choice between prosperity and poverty.

It's a choice between success and failure.

It's a choice between winning and losing.

You have the power to choose. Jy het die mag om te kies.
Ninawo Amandla okuzikhethela.

Your vote is your power. So make the right choice. Choose to win, and then vote to win.

Last year, the DA unveiled a new logo and a new offer to the people of South Africa. Our purpose is not only to be an opposition party. It is to be a party of government.

And we promised to turn our dream for South Africa - our dream of one nation, one future - into reality.

Our logo reflects our offer. It is a morning sun rising over the rainbow nation. It signals hope; it heralds change; it speaks of opportunity; and it reflects our love for diversity.

As with our logo, so with our campaign. Our campaign is our logo in action. It's our offer not just in word, but in deed too.

Everything we say and do in this campaign will be shaped by our devotion to diversity; our commitment to creating and expanding opportunity; and our will to win and govern well.

We are finalising our list of election candidates. And today I am pleased to be joined on stage by some of them.

These men and women come from a diverse range of backgrounds, but they all share a common attribute: a commitment to excellence and public service.

They are the people who, in all their rich variety, will take forward the DA's vision of the open, opportunity society for all, and make it real.

They are ready to build a better future. A future in which every person is free. Where everyone has access to life-changing opportunities. Where growth and prosperity are shared by all. Where every child is protected and safe. Where each and every language and culture is respected and protected.

In two weeks time, on 14 February, we will launch our manifesto. Our manifesto is based on a package of carefully costed and mutually reinforcing policies that set out practical steps to attain our vision. It is our blueprint for success. It is our recipe for a winning nation.

A nation where children can grow up to be whatever they want to be and do whatever they have the talent and the discipline to succeed in - and not be blocked by the state, or prejudice, or power abuse of any kind.

A nation where learners receive the best quality education; where they are taught by passionate and professional teachers, so that they can acquire the skills they need to use their opportunities and contribute to the prosperity of all.

A nation where people can find jobs and provide for themselves and their families.

A nation where the sick have access to caring and competent health professionals; where they don't have to face long queues to be treated indifferently at a government hospital with crumbling facilities.

A nation where we can all be free from fear; where our sons and daughters can ride their bikes securely in the streets and play safely in the parks; and where the criminal justice system works to prevent crime, catch criminals, and prosecute, convict and punish them properly.

A nation where all of us, from all of our diverse backgrounds, can claim and affirm each other's languages and cultures, as part of our own and our shared heritage and identity as South Africans.

A nation where we protect and defend the Constitution, and put power back where it belongs - in the hands of citizens.

Over the next few months, I will travel the length and breadth of South Africa to tell people about the real choice in this election: the choice between the open, opportunity society for all and the closed, crony society for some.

The choice between freedom and fear.

Die keuse tussen hoop en wanhoop
Ukukhetha phakathi kokunqoba nokuhlulwa (The choice between victory and defeat)
Some people say that we have already won our freedom, and that the trophy is our Constitution. A trophy which belongs to us all.

That is only part of the truth. Because unless we constantly look after it, polish it, and use it, the Constitution will corrode, and so will our democracy.

And that is why the DA is waging this campaign. Not just to win seats, but to make sure that democracy works.

We want to win that next battle - for openness and opportunity - and we will.

We want to win that next battle - for more jobs - and we will, because we are the only party with the plan and the expertise to fix the economy.

We want to win that next battle - for safer communities, better schools and improved health care for all - and we will.

We want to win that next battle - for one nation, one future - and we will.

No to more of the same. Yes to real change now.

Because that is what the DA offers - a workable and winning alternative; a strong track record in government; a government that delivers on its promises.
Ngokuvotela i-DA
Nivotela uKuwina.
Stem en wen!
Vote DA and vote to win!