Opposition Party the Democratic Alliance (DA) nominated Ghaleb Cachalia as the party’s Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate at the Germiston Council Chambers on Tuesday.

Cachalia is the son of struggle stalwarts Amina and Yusuf Cachalia.

Addressing a large crowd of DA supporters Cachalia said he did not leave the African National Congress (ANC) but that the ANC had left him.

Although he was never part of the ANC he said that the ANC was always in his blood.

“Sadly after 22 years of ANC government, we have been betrayed. The ANC of Jacob Zuma is no longer the ANC of Nelson Mandela,” said Cachalia.

He said he had agonised over the decision and added that he was happy because his family had given him all the support he needed.

“From the ashes of apartheid we forged a new country based on human dignity, equality and freedom for all. Throughout my life, I believed the ANC embodied these values. It was here where I put my faith for a better life for all South Africans. It was a party that enshrined my values when Mandela signed our Constitution into law in 1996,” said Cachalia.  

He was accompanied by DA Ekurhuleni regional chairperson Mel da Silva, members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature Ashor Sarupen and Michele Clarke and DA national spokesperson Refiloe Nt’sekhe.

Cachalia said the values he had learnt from his family had guided him throughout his life.

He listed these as “non-racialism and reconciliation, the rule of law and human rights, human dignity and the imperative that the government must work for the people and not the other way round”. 

He stated that a corrupt elite group had used the power of the State to benefit only themselves and their families.

He added that Ekurhuleni was the second most unequal city in the world.

“Ekurhuleni used to be called Africa’s workshop, but after years of mismanagement, it is deindustrialised,” he added.

Cachalia noted that nearly 24% of households in the city did not live in formal dwellings, 40% of the people in the city did not have a tap in their homes, 15% do not have a flush toilet and 20% have no access to electricity.

DA member Sfiso Shabalala who resides in Lindelani, an informal settlement in Ward 71 Benoni, said he was happy about Cachalia’s speech because it gave him hope. He said for 16 years his community had not benefited from any service delivery from the ruling party.

“We don’t have schools and health facilities in our area. The children cross a dangerous highway every day to go to school in Ward 73. We need to see change soon,” said Shabalala. 

DA party leader in Gauteng John Moodey said South Africa deserved better.

“For more than 22 years, many of us have sacrificed to bring a new South Africa. Our South Africa is going from crisis to crisis. The ANC of which many of us were card carrying members has now become the African National Crisis,” said Moodey.