This speech extract was delivered at the DA Eastern Cape Youth Day Event in Buffalo City. DA EC Provincial Leader Andrew Whitfield MP was joined by DA EC Provincial Chairperson, Yusuf Cassim MPL, DA EC Deputy Provincial Chairperson, Baxolile Nodada MP, DA EC Provincial Spokesperson, Cllr Georgina Faldtman, and DA Youth Eastern Cape Provincial Chairperson Amzolele Nkolisa. Please find attached a soundbite by Andrew Whitfield MP. Download pictures here, here, here and here.
Today, as we commemorate Youth Day in Buffalo City, we remember the youth of 1976, a generation that stood up against injustice and demanded the right to equal education.
They had to fight for a better future because millions of young people did not have the option to vote and refused that their future would be dictated by an unjust government. Because of their sacrifice, the youth of today have opportunities and freedoms that many of them never had. They were fighters for the freedom of South Africa.
And yet, exactly 50 years later, the class of 1976 has seen their legacy tainted by more than three decades of Eastern Cape rule by the corrupt ANC.
When government fails, jobs disappear. When municipalities collapse and cannot deliver the most basic of services, investment disappears.
Under the ANC basic services such as water, electricity, sanitation and roads are not being delivered. This leads to massive disinvestment in our small towns and metros. Businesses do not invest where there is no reliability.
56.2% of the youth in this province do not have jobs. This is the highest youth unemployment rate in the country. They have matric certificates, diplomas, and degrees, but cannot find work. The Eastern Cape also has the highest unemployment rate in South Africa, standing at 42.5%.
DA municipalities are functional, deliver reliable basic services, and uphold clean governance that roots out corruption, attracts investment, and creates jobs. That is why the DA governed Western Cape has an unemployment rate of only 18.1%, the lowest in South Africa. It also has the lowest youth unemployment rate in the country at 28.7%.
The odds are stacked against the young people of the Eastern Cape, but they have the right to vote and they must exercise that right by voting for a party of the future. The DA is that party of the future, it is a party for young South Africans. In the Eastern Cape we are led by young leaders such as Yusuf Cassim, Baxolile Nodada, Amzolele Nkolisa, Anathi Majeke and Lemarc Stewart.
We are deliberate about giving young people the opportunity to own their future, to shape their future, and to build a better future for all South Africans.
On 4 November during the 2026 Local Governments Elections, the youth of the Eastern Cape can remove the ANC, the biggest stumbling block standing in the way of a brighter future.
They can become fighters for a better future by voting for the DA, who has a track record of delivering services, growing the economy, and creating jobs and caring for young people.
On election day the youth of the Eastern Cape can vote for the DA to get our towns and cities working and to create opportunities and jobs for all South Africans.