Standing ovations as DA announces candidates

GEORGE POLITICAL NEWS - Federal Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance, Dr Ivan Meyer, on 28 August announced the Garden Route's mayoral candidates for the upcoming municipal elections. Meyer unequivocally said that the DA is ready for the vote, regardless of whether the municipal elections are postponed due to Covid-19.

Provincial Deputy Leader Tertius Simmers said that the Garden Route is a key component of the DA's East Region, as well as the biggest voting block for DA support in the province.

"Therefore, it is important to have the right candidates to carry our banner forward. This is an innovative region that even outperforms the provincial statistics."

Simmers said that the region showed the only DA growth in the country, due to the stability in the region. "This is why it is important to have the right people moving us ahead. In this, mayors lead the charge."

Meyer summarised the skills needed by an effective mayor.

"The first job a mayor has is to understand the big picture in your town, not a small picture. Ten years ago, you put a new provincial government in place. Your job is not to run your town, but to facilitate change."

He said operational excellence too, is vital. "The things you talk about, you must be able to execute, with precision and efficiency. Thirdly, a mayor must effect change. Things cannot remain the same. You must have flexibility. Understand the rules and the architecture, but remind yourself to be flexible."

He explained that we are living in the so-called Vuca world. Vuca is an acronym for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity.

"There is a lot of volatility. Mayors, you must provide vision to counter this. As for uncertainty - there is a lot of it in South Africa. Give an understanding of the issues - this is your job. Where there is complexity, you must provide certainty. Where there is ambiguity, your job as a mayor is to provide agility. Agility is the ability to get the job done. And that's our slogan for the election - We get things done."