Zille teaches DA candidates how to govern

31 July 2016 - 02:00 By OLEBOGENG MOLATLHWA
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DA candidates are being shown the ropes in "ready to govern" workshops in anticipation of victory in the elections

Two senior DA leaders, a federal council member and a regional leader from Johannesburg, said this week thatWestern Cape premier Helen Zille hadbeen conducting "ready to govern" workshops with key DA candidates since October to help them identify service delivery and governance issues to focus on if the party topples the ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay, Johannesburg and Tshwane.

The three metros are highly contested by the ANC and DA.

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The workshops were attended by m embers of mayoral, municipal public accounts and municipal finance committees to prepare them to deliver efficient governance.

The federal council member said they were important to ensure that "we are not going in unprepared. Helen Zille is in charge of the 'ready to govern' workshops. It's a programme of action in metros that we expect to win. When we hit the ground, we really know what's going to happen. It's all been done and Helen is leading that programme."

Zille confirmed that the workshops had been held but denied having led them, saying she had only made one presentation.

She said the workshops were intended to prepare the party for taking over power in crucial metros.

The Johannesburg regional leader said the DA would immediately tackle the city's billing crisis.

"We have identified what we call 'quick wins' - things to do right away so that there will be a visible difference. In Johannesburg, it will be an issue like the billing crisis. That has been a huge issue, not just in our traditional areas [of support] but also in Eldorado Park, Ennerdale and Soweto. This has been a particularly painful thing for a lot of poor people and the ANC has lost credibility over it," he said.

The DA held similar workshops ahead of the 2011 local government elections in preparation for winning an outright majority for the first time in Cape Town.

It also ran a "ready to govern" workshop in the run-up to the 2014 general elections, when it anticipated wresting control of Gauteng from the ANC.

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