 has officially announced Christo Botha as its mayoral candidate for the City of uMhlathuze, positioning the current deputy mayor as the party’s standard bearer for the northern KwaZulu-Natal municipality ahead of the next local government elections.){kind=link}
By Johnathan Paoli
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has officially announced Christo Botha as its mayoral candidate for the City of uMhlathuze, positioning the current deputy mayor as the party’s standard bearer for the northern KwaZulu-Natal municipality ahead of the next local government elections.
Botha’s nomination was unveiled during a provincial council engagement on Saturday attended by DA leaders, ministers, and party activists, where the party emphasised unity, organisational strength, and electoral momentum in the province.
ALSO READ: IFP MEC says Durban’s Mandela, Tambo statues ‘incomplete’ without Buthelezi
Accepting the nomination, Botha said he appreciated the trust placed in him by the party and its supporters.
“Today I’m deeply honoured standing here in front of you to be accepted as the mayoral candidate of the beautiful city of uMhlathuze. For more than 14 years I’ve walked the streets of uMhlathuze, spoken to our residents and understand the challenges that we face every single day,” he said.
Botha said the municipality had made significant progress in recent years, but warned that substantial work remained to improve service delivery and grow the local economy.
“There’s a lot of work that we’ve done in the past five years, but there’s a lot of work that still needs to be done. Our city is filled with hard-working people who simply want the very best in terms of service delivery. They want water, electricity, roads to drive on, basic services and security,” he said.
ALSO READ: Ramaphosa finalising water crisis committee
He highlighted governance achievements in the municipality, noting that uMhlathuze had maintained a strong financial record, being recognised by the Auditor-General for the 11th consecutive year with a clean and unqualified audit report.
Botha said responsible governance had to translate into real improvements in residents’ daily lives.
“Clean governance means that we use public funds responsibly, but it must also translate into service delivery. Otherwise it doesn’t mean anything,” he said.
Looking ahead, Botha said the city had the potential to become a leading economic hub in the province if opportunities were translated into jobs and development.
“We have a fantastic opportunity to become the number one economic hub in KwaZulu-Natal. But we must make sure that those opportunities change people’s lives, grow the economy and create jobs,” he said.
He pledged that the DA would work to retain control of the municipality.
The announcement came as party leaders emphasised the DA’s organisational progress in KwaZulu-Natal and its ambitions to expand its electoral footprint in the province.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Ramaphosa agrees with Malema’s proposal to open clinics for 24 hours
Provincial leader Francois Rodgers said the party’s strategy for upcoming elections would focus on securing outright majorities in key municipalities rather than relying on coalition arrangements.
“The most important thing we’ve learned out of the service delivery pact is that we cannot enter into any further service delivery pact unless we are the majority in the municipality after the election,” Rodgers said.
He argued that the DA’s performance in government demonstrated its ability to deliver services where it held power.
“Where the Democratic Alliance rules, it makes a difference. Our track record in service delivery speaks for itself,” he said.
Rodgers also highlighted organisational improvements within the provincial structure.
“For many years in this province, KZN would be towards the bottom two-thirds of provinces in the country. Can I tell you that Gauteng is number one and KwaZulu-Natal is now consistently the second-best performing province in the country,” he said.
ALSO READ: Second arrest in Hartbeesfontein staged rhino horn theft
DA provincial chairperson Dean McPherson echoed the theme of unity, describing the party in KwaZulu-Natal as more cohesive than at any point in its history.
“Our organisation in KwaZulu-Natal is more united, more focused and more results-based than it’s ever been in the history of this party. We are one province with one vision — and that is to govern and to bring change to the communities we serve in this province,” McPherson said.
Deputy Finance Minister Ashor Sarupen, the DA’s federal campaign manager, said the party’s growth would depend on organisational strength rather than individual speeches.
“If we’re going to become the largest political party in South Africa, it’s not going to happen by accident. It will happen because ordinary members in every province build the machine to win elections,” Sarupen said.
He praised the province’s progress in voter registration and campaigning, noting that KwaZulu-Natal currently ranked second nationally for registration efforts.
As the DA prepares for upcoming elections, party leaders say that unity within its ranks, and among voters seeking change, will be critical to expanding its influence in KwaZulu-Natal and beyond.