The DA leader in the Free State, Roy Jankielsohn, has reiterated that real freedom must be measured in people’s daily lives, in access to jobs, quality services, and a government that works efficiently and transparently.

He spoke at the party’s national Freedom Day commemoration on Monday 27 April.

“The DA commemorates Freedom Day as a defining moment in South Africa’s history, a day that symbolises the triumph of democracy over oppression and the promise of a better life for all,” he said.

“However, while we honour the significance of this day, we must confront the lived reality of many residents across the province and that for them, freedom remains incomplete.

“For thousands in the Free State, the promise of 1994 has yet to translate into meaningful change. Many are still trapped in economic hardship, unemployment and poverty. Basic dignities that should accompany freedom, such as access to reliable running water, decent housing and proper sanitation, remain out of reach for far too many communities.

“The DA believes that political freedom without economic opportunity and basic service delivery is a promise only half fulfilled.”

Jankielsohn has blamed dysfunctional municipalities across the Free State.

“When taps run dry, refuse goes uncollected and infrastructure crumbles, residents are denied not only services, but their dignity. Poor governance and mismanagement have turned many municipalities into barriers to progress rather than vehicles for development. Corruption and lack of accountability continue to rob residents of the opportunities they deserve.”

According to Jankielsohn, the low attendance at Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa’s Freedom Day address in Bloemfontein was due to widespread public distrust in the ANC. The DA said Ramaphosa arrived “with rhetoric instead of announcing real criminal accountability for ANC members and others” involved in corruption.

“Free Staters need to see more arrests and less talk from the president,” said Jankielsohn.