DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has described the City of Ekurhuleni as a gangster’s paradise for corrupt politicians and officials.
This comes as new information continues to surface from the Madlanga Commission regarding maladministration and the looting of the municipality’s coffers through a sophisticated network of corruption.
Hill-Lewis was speaking in Boksburg on Wednesday, where the party’s mayoral candidate in the city, Khathu Rasilingwane, launched her pledges ahead of the upcoming elections.
“We thought we could not be shocked in South Africa anymore. But every day, there are more and more revelations about how everything in Ekurhuleni is corrupted.
“And I mean every single thing. Not a single thing is untainted by the stench of corruption. State Capture never ended in Ekurhuleni.
“In fact, Ekurhuleni is now the epicentre of what is known as the Gangster State. Where every contract, every service, everything is corrupted, so that politicians and senior officials can steal millions and millions out of the city,” he said.
You need strong medicine, you need a leader
He said the current service delivery challenges in that City are a result of the pillaging of state resources by those trusted with the administration of the City.
“What the residents see are the symptoms of this Corrupt Gangster City – broken roads, broken substations, broken water systems, broken finances and broken trust.
“When things are this bad, you need some strong medicine. You need a leader who is firmly committed to restoring honesty. Who is resolute about ripping out corruption. Who will stop at nothing to build a professional, honest, ethical city government,” he said.
Hill-Lewis said Ekurhuleni can be fixed, but he appealed to voters to give their mayoral candidate a chance to start turning things around on election day, November 4.
“We have such a leader in Khathu Rasilingwane! And she has a team that is just as committed as she is. Together, Khathu and the DA in government in this city can restore hope that Ekurhuleni can work.
“And when Ekurhuleni works, people work. Families work. Businesses work. Communities work. South Africa works. That is the DA’s message to this city and to this country,” he said.
He said he still believes in a prosperous South Africa despite the current challenges South Africa faces.
“Things can change. They have changed where the DA governs. And they can change here in Ekurhuleni too. In Cape Town, the Western Cape, Midvaal, and Umgeni, we have shown that a government can be clean.”
