Durban — In his enthusiastic drive to become the next premier, the DA’s Chris Pappas has promised that if he is given a chance to govern in KwaZulu-Natal he will give special attention to areas where predominantly blacks live.
Pappas said such areas were deliberately deprived of resources by the apartheid regime.
The DA leader spoke to Sunday Tribune last week as part of the May 29 election campaign. He said he intended to expand service delivery, which he has already provided in the uMngeni Municipality, since becoming mayor in 2021.
“The issue of our country is that these areas were deprived of resources on purpose. Those who live in a township require special attention and they require more resources invested in them,” Pappas said.
He said it was unfair that townships under DA-run municipalities were always highlighted as being discriminated against while service delivery was more focused on affluent suburbs.
“You always highlight Khayelitsha (in Cape Town) and Mpophomeni (in Umngeni), but I can promise you that Umlazi is far worse”.
He said a big chunk of the uMngeni municipality budget was allocated to Mpophomeni township, whose residents enjoy free basic services.
He said there was propaganda spreading among black communities that if voted to power, the DA would bring back apartheid.
“There is not one single municipality or province where we govern that any form of grant has been taken away.
“They are saying the DA will take away your RDP houses, the DA will bring back apartheid but not a single DA-run municipality or province has brought back apartheid or have taken away RDP houses,” he said.
Pappas backed party provincial leader Francois Rodgers who recently confirmed a partnership with the IFP to unseat the ANC in the provincial government.
He said the IFP was a mature party to work with following a relationship that was built. The parties have co-governed local municipalities following the 2021 local government election where there were no outright winners.
“We asked ourselves if we should try to involve a mature political party that has experience in government and a vision to bring change. Then we decided to start a process of maturing democracy and government in KZN by signing a service delivery agreement.
“That service delivery agreement then evolved into what you see today at the national level. It’s a mutual pact and is now called a multiparty charter to make coalition work, not just around power and positions but agreed on service delivery terms and principles,” he said.
Pappas was not worried about the departure of black leaders such as Zwakele Mncwango, Sizwe Mchunu, and Mbali Ntuli among others who were influential in the province while with the DA.
“There are now more black people joining the DA than those who have left, just like there are more whites who have joined the DA than those who have left.
“There are the likes of Athol Trollip and Michael Beaumont and other white people who have left but you don’t report on that because it does not suit your narrative,” he said.
In what could be seen as an attempt to present himself as socialising with black people, Pappas was a few months ago seen trending on social media enjoying braai meat and pap at Mai Mai hostel in Johannesburg.
The fluent Zulu-speaking leader is a qualified town planner with experience in government in “taking something that is broken and making it to something that can deliver services”.
He also described himself as the son of the province.
“I am young but I am not too young not to have life and work experience.
“Being young, I have an energy that is required to run around and fix the problems that we face, which requires people who are willing to hit the ground running,” he said.
Sunday Tribune