‘ANC saw the blue wave coming and they were scared‚’ Maimane tells students

20 May 2015 - 15:26 By RDM News Wire

“There is a wind of change sweeping across the country. And it has been felt right here‚ on this campus‚ in the beautiful Eastern Cape‚” Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane told Fort Hare University students. He was visiting the campus that saw his party’s student wing‚ Daso‚ win the recent student representative council (SRC) polls in an upset for the ruling African National Congress-aligned incumbents.“When Daso swept to victory in the SRC elections here three weeks ago‚ the newspaper headlines made it sound like this was unexpected‚” Maimane said.“But in reality‚ many saw this coming. We‚ in the DA‚ certainly saw it coming.“And make no mistake‚ the ANC saw this coming too. If they weren’t really nervous about the possibility of defeat‚ they would never have sent their big guns to come and campaign here.“When is the last time you saw ANC heavyweights like Cyril Ramaphosa‚ Malusi Gigaba and Fikile Mbalula deployed to a university campus to campaign for SRC elections? It has never happened.“The ANC saw the blue wave coming. And they were scared.”Maimane’s speech marked the launch of his Freedom‚ Fairness & Opportunity Tour‚ which will involve town halls‚ street meetings and house meetings “to start a conversation about the DA’s new values charter that we adopted at our federal congress two weeks ago‚ and that now serves as the preamble to the party’s constitution”.His went on to explain the name of the tour‚ saying the three words are the core values “that guide us in all we do as we work together with you to build a better tomorrow for all South Africans”.“Young South Africans are choosing freedom that they can use.“They are choosing fairness instead of a system of economic insiders and outsiders.“They are choosing opportunity instead of hopelessness and unemployment.”The tour will culminate with the launch of the DA’s vision for South Africa on June 13. Maimane said Fort Hare University was a “symbolic” choice to launch this tour‚ exclaiming that it “is good to be here on the campus of (Nelson) Mandela‚ (Oliver) Tambo and (Robert) Sobukwe”.“A Daso victory at Fort Hare – with all its political history‚ with everything that ties this place to the ANC and its leaders – is a big moment for South Africa.“And let me tell you…This was no lucky fluke. Daso won at Fort Hare because they made it crystal clear that they understand the issues that really matter to the students of this campus.“DASO’s platform for the SRC election intersected with your hopes‚ dreams and wishes for the future.”..

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