Hill-Lewis pledges jobs, safer streets and improved services in new term

During his election campaign, DA leader, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said he had learnt the value of being a public servant from his mother, who worked as a nurse at Mfuleni Clinic and Groote Schuur Hospital. Now, with his second term dawning, Hill-Lewis has vowed to tackle crime, provide more than 580 000 new jobs and revive old highways, while boasting that the province has delivered the most affordable housing in the country and will do more.

This he pledged while canvassing to be re-elected.

He said his mother would work the night shift to make ends meet, and he would often sit and watch her work before falling asleep there.

“I saw how she cared, it showed me the true meaning of public service,” said Hill-Lewis.

Hill-Lewis first took office in November 2021. At the time, he said he was committed to releasing public land for housing, improving the quality of life of poor residents, ensuring that everyone in Cape Town lived a life of dignity, procuring power from independent power producers, ending load-shedding, keeping the city clean and making it safer.

On Friday morning, the Democratic Alliance is leading the Western Cape local government election results with 61.94% of the vote and maintains its hold over the province.

His election campaign saw him sleep over at a residence in Mitchell’s Plain, fighting drugs, replacing sewage pipes, taking part in a spring-cleaning campaigns in Parkwood, promising to upgrade public spaces and the launch Emaan Oosthuizen Park, named after a little girl who was murdered during gang violence in Ocean View in 2020.

Earlier Hill-Lewis said his campaign and administration priorities focused on five core pledges for the city:

On Friday morning, he said he was committed to making towns and cities work.

“The Democratic Alliance (DA) is ready, and we are eager to get started. I commit the DA to working hard over the coming weeks to help build governments that will get South Africa’s cities and towns working for all,” he said.

“We will approach these discussions with respect for the mandate each party has received from the voters.

“We understand the responsibility that comes with your support, and we will work every day to honour it. As the results come in, we are thrilled with the picture we see developing.

“These results reflect a growing, stronger DA that is now deeply embedded in every single community in the country, and that truly represents every part of South Africa.”

He said they had grown in other parts of the country and municipalities: “We have won in cities, and we have won in deep rural areas, from Mount Ayliff, to Fort Beaufort, to Emfuleni, uMngeni and beyond.

“The headline results are now clear: The DA will be the only party to govern a metro with an outright majority. In Cape Town, we have received a resounding endorsement that exceeded our expectations.

“The DA will be the largest party in 4 other metros – Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, and Nelson Mandela Bay.

“We will grow our national standing, and have taken a step forward on our mission of being the largest party in South Africa.

“We will gain 104 new wards and roughly 233 new councillors across the country.

“We can now say with certainty that roughly one million black South Africans voted for the Democratic Alliance on Wednesday, making us a mainstream party in every community, whether you are black, white, coloured or Indian.

“We received our highest-ever support in the townships of Cape Town, and achieved similar record support in townships across the country, especially where we govern.”

Weekend Argus has since reached out to the Mayor's office about the reaffirming of his key priorities and awaits feedback.