Solly Msimanga announced as DA’s Gauteng premier candidate

Solly Msimanga has been named as the DA's Gauteng premier candidate ahead of the 2024 national and provincial elections.

Msimanga, who was recently elected as the party's provincial leader, has been described as someone who combines “experience, enthusiasm and determination in equal measure”.

Announced as the premier candidate by the DA's national leader John Steenhuisen in Johannesburg on Wednesday, Msimanga previously served as mayor of Tshwane and is a member of the Gauteng legislature.

Steenhuisen said the party was throwing its weight behind Msimanga because they believed, for the first time, the DA stood a chance to govern Gauteng and not settle for official opposition status.

“Previously we knew for certain the ANC would win Gauteng. We have never had this much to play for going into an election. Now we know for certain the ANC will lose Gauteng. This change is an enormous step forward for our politics. This means we need to start behaving like a true government-in-waiting,” he said.

The DA leader said to succeed in their mission, every party member, activist and supporter would have to rally together and change their mindset.

“Our job is to make sure the DA wins power in Gauteng next year. Our job is to make sure the candidate we are announcing today is inaugurated as Gauteng premier two weeks after next year’s election.”

Steenhuisen said the party would not only campaign on the basis of the ruling party's failures but would also spread the message of the DA's vision to “rescue Gauteng”.

“This requires the DA in this province to take our game to a whole new level. We will need to work much harder to register every single eligible DA voter. We will need to take our message to every corner of this province to bring hope back to many hopeless communities.”

TimesLIVE