DA premier candidate Alan Winde casts his vote in Cape Town. (Jenna Etheridge, News24)
Every person appointed to the Western Cape provincial cabinet will have to undergo a lifestyle audit – this is one of the first tasks that DA premier candidate Alan Winde has set for himself if he is voted into power.
Not one for special treatment, Winde stood in the queue with his wife to cast his vote at Batavia Special Needs school in Claremont on Wednesday morning, explaining that he had "absolutely zero tolerance for corruption".
"We need to put mechanisms and tools in place that keep people honest because obviously, corruption in South Africa, it's becoming our brand."
The rain pelted down in Cape Town, a blessing which Winde welcomed. He, however, urged citizens to get out of their warm beds and make the effort to vote.
He said that the night before the elections, he slept well from "exhaustion" after criss-crossing the province to spread the message that the DA was tackling crime, public transport, electricity and resilience.
These national mandates were "hard, tough grinds" but as a province, the plan was to take the economy even further.
"Most of the time you spend your quiet time contemplating the challenge ahead, the major task ahead," he said, revealing that he was excited, but that the task was daunting.
"You see the new schools and all the new stuff that is being built and created, but you also see how much still has to be done."
News24 asked what he planned to do differently to former premier Helen Zille.
Winde replied that, having worked in her cabinet for a decade, they had built a strong foundation together, but he wanted to bring along more innovation and "put it on steroids".
Also braving the rain with their three-month-old baby and three-year-old son, Misha Naik and Smital Rambhai explained that no political party made them really happy.
"Our forefathers fought for us to be able to do this, so we need to get out and vote. We also want to teach our little one that he has a voice," Naik said while they pushed a pram to escape the cold.
"It's hard to choose who. I can't answer that."
Attracting quite a lot of attention in the queue was local resident Kurt Wucherefennig, who carried a tall, wooden giraffe statue.
He explained that this was one of "Gerry's" rare outings, as he was more of a homebody.
He wanted to show anyone could make a difference.
"If you want to make a difference, get out there and vote. Don't bitch and moan and say it's raining."
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