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DA leadership at the St Helena Bay on the Cape West Coast.
The DA says it’s on a mission to showcase some of its successes while it is in government, as part of the Government of National Unity.
DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis says all the party’s public representatives have been mandated to ensure they distinguish themselves from other parties. This comes as the party ramps up efforts to garner support ahead of the local government elections expected in November.
Hill-Lewis visited St Helena Bay on the Cape West Coast to celebrate the restoration of about 300 fishing vessel permits for small-scale fisherman.
The Fisheries Department Minister, Willie Aucamp, is from the DA.
Hill-Lewis has denied that this is conflating the party and the state.
“Our ministers have a mandate, every DA mayor, every DA premier, every DA provincial minister has a mandate from the DA. That mandate comes from the public, and its placed with the DA, and the DA executes that mandate in government. So, we are not here to use state resources. There is not a single state resource being used here. We are here to celebrate when the DA does something that benefits everyone for a community that has long been disrespected by government,” says Hill-Lewis.
Aucamp says he attended the event as an activist and cannot ditch his ministerial position…
“I looked at the data, and I met with the fishermen, and I said to them. I will handle these permits in a matter of urgency. Normally, it takes a year to a year and a half to handle these appeals. I gave them the undertaking, and I managed to finalise all those appeals – all 297 of them within three days. So, we gave them back their fishing rights.”
Willie Aucamp on restoration of small-scale fishing vessel permits:
