CAPE TOWN – The Democratic Alliance (DA) has officially announced Geordin Hill-Lewis as its mayoral candidate for Cape Town ahead of the upcoming local government elections. The incumbent mayor, who is seeking another term at the helm of the Mother City, has laid out an ambitious five-pledge platform and drawn backing from senior mayoral committee members.

The announcement was made at a community event in Hanover Park on Saturday, 13 June, and was accompanied by a campaign speech titled ‘Taking Cape Town Forward for All’, which outlined the party’s vision for the city’s next chapter.

“Today we begin the next chapter in the story of this city we love,” Hill-Lewis told the crowd, addressing residents in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa. “A city is not built by concrete and steel. A city is built by its people.”

A city moving forward — the record

The speech was as much a defence of the DA’s stewardship of Cape Town as it was a manifesto for the future. Hill-Lewis pointed to deliverables across historically overlooked communities, including repaired swimming pools in Mitchells Plain, Langa and Gugulethu, rebuilt sports fields in Manenberg and Atlantis, expanded MyCiTi bus services and new homes in Bonteheuwel. He claimed Cape Town had created 480 000 new jobs in four and a half years — against Johannesburg’s 70 000 and 348 000 across all three Gauteng metros combined in the same period.

“For every one job created in Joburg, Cape Town created nearly seven,” he said. “When cities work, people work. That is the difference DA governance makes.”

Five pledges: the road ahead

Central to the speech were five concrete pledges framed as measurable commitments that voters could hold the DA accountable to after the election. These covered stronger policing, including a dedicated Metro Police Detective Unit, additional jobs by cutting red tape, reliable and affordable services with a target of replacing 100 km of fresh-water pipe and 100 km of sewer pipe annually, more affordable homes through releasing city-owned land and scaling up rental programmes, and cleaner public spaces with tougher action on illegal dumping and expanded services for homeless residents.

“A city of hope must be a city of compassion,” Hill-Lewis said.

Keeping the lights on: the energy difference

Xanthea Limberg, Mayco member for energy, said the municipality was diversifying its power supply to improve energy security and affordability. “The focus is not only about ensuring energy security and energy resilience, but making power cheaper for everyone, because energy affordability is critical to ensuring dignity, particularly for the most vulnerable,” she said.

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Limberg noted the City’s cash-for-power programme enabled residents to sell excess electricity back to the grid and receive payment in return. The City also plans to expand its private procurement of cleaner, greener energy to bring greater competition and price stability. “We want to bring price stability so that our residents can actually afford to power their homes and run their businesses,” she said.

Water and sanitation: infrastructure built to last

Zahid Badroodien, Mayco member for water and sanitation, said the budget had grown from around R2 billion to close to R6 billion since the start of the current term, funding expanded wastewater treatment capacity, pipe replacements and pump station upgrades. “Our residents want to know that when they open up their taps, there is going to be safe, great-quality water, good enough to drink. That is the Cape Town difference,” Badroodien said. New pipe replacements are engineered to last between 70 and 100 years. “When your metros work, your country works,” he said.

Moving the city: transport expansion worth over R7 billion

Mayco member for urban mobility Roberto Quintas highlighted the MyCiTi Phase 2A south-east corridor expansion, valued at over R7 billion. The service will connect more than 30 neighbourhoods and 1,4 million residents — from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha to Wynberg and Claremont — and is expected to launch in July next year with new electric buses on dedicated rapid transport lanes. “It is going to be a scheduled, affordable, reliable, safe and dignified public transport offering,” Quintas said. A tap-on, tap-off bank card pilot will launch in July or August, removing the need for a dedicated MyCiTi card, with future integration planned for Golden Arrow and PRASA.

What comes next

The choice of Hanover Park as venue was widely read as a deliberate signal that the DA’s campaign is aimed at all of Cape Town, including communities on the Cape Flats that have historically borne the brunt of gang violence and service delivery shortfalls. Both Limberg and Badroodien urged residents to register to vote on 20 and 21 June.

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“Never underestimate the value of your vote. Just a little while ago, the DA won an ANC ward with only eight votes. If those eight people had not voted, that ward would have gone to a different political party,” Badroodien said. “Go out and register.”