Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane told potential voters in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday that he had no problem with them taking food parcels from the African National Congress (ANC) and voting DA.

“I know they will bring you food parcels – please take them. We are not voting for food parcels at the end of the day. Eat the food and vote for change,” Maimane told residents in the Burlington area as part of his Kasi-to-Kasi tour. 

He also warned the crowd about racial divisions being preached by other political parties.

“If they come to divide us here, they are dividing us on the basis of race. They are saying ‘black people that side, white people that side’. There are political parties who even say Indian people are the most racist people in this country,” said Maimane, a reference to the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

“I am here to reject the idea of racists who come from the ANC and the EFF or the Freedom Front Plus. Instead I stand with the DA where we build one South Africa for all – for black people, for white people, for Indian people and for coloured people. Amandla!”

Maimane said the DA would “look after” voters because they were “citizens of South Africa”.

“You are deserving of your rights as a person, not because you belong to a race or a religion,” he said.

DA MP Phumzile van Damme and DA KZN premier candidate Zwakele Mncwango joined Maimane.

“The best way to bring change to your community is to use your vote,” said Van Damme.

“A lot of people say ‘things don’t change, there’s no point in voting’. If you do that, the ANC will come out to vote, and then you will stay in the living conditions that you are. So it is important to vote for change. It is important for this community to vote for change, because the Democratic Alliance will bring change,” she said.