Port Elizabeth – The Democratic Alliance in the Eastern Cape will be out in full force ahead of the local government elections in a bid to win the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality from the ruling African National Congress.
The DA’s Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral candidate, Athol Trollip, on Tuesday announced three campaign phases to be rolled out over the next 100 days before election day on August 3.
At a press conference in Kwazakhele, Trollip said that the party would now be campaigning “harder than ever”.
“In 100 days’ time, the people of Nelson Mandela Bay will get to choose a new government – one that focuses on job creation, stopping corruption and creating jobs by voting for the DA to bring the change we need to move forward again,” said Trollip.
The three-point plan follows the party’s Local Government Manifesto Launch held in Johannesburg over the weekend.
The DA has set it sights on winning highly contested metros, including Tshwane, Johannesburg, and Ekurhuleni in Gauteng, and Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape.
Next month, the first phase of the DA’s plan will focus on taking the party’s recently launched manifesto to the residents of Nelson Mandela Bay through town hall meetings and door-to-door visits.
“Our manifesto will be unpacked and explained to all the people of NMB. Our promises and how we will achieve them will be laid out for residents to interrogate,” Trollip said.
“Then, we will ask the people of NMB to stand up for change, focusing on community activism, giving people the opportunity to stand up and be part of change, through volunteer programmes and interactive community engagements.
“We will grow DA presence considerably during this period by sheer force of committed volunteerism, and we will give the voiceless communities of NMB a chance to make themselves heard,” said Trollip.
In July, the DA will attempt to mobilise residents to vote come election day.
“Over the next three months, it will be critical to mobilise as much support as possible to ensure that we can deliver positive change in the Bay. In this phase, residents will be further brought into our movement for change and given the chance to become campaigners in their own right, empowered to bring out every vote they can.
“Through these three phases we believe we have the final steps necessary to secure an outright win in Nelson Mandela Bay. Our manifesto speaks to the change we need to move forward again,” said Trollip.
African News Agency
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