ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE: Geordin Hill-Lewis. (Photo: Freddy Mavunda/Times Live) | Stellenbosch Municipality logo (Image: Stellenbosch Municipality/Linkedin) | By Ella Bosman
Geordin Hill-Lewis’s recent election as Democratic Alliance (DA) federal leader has sparked questions about the future of the party – and by extension, impact on a local government level in its dominant municipalities, such as Stellenbosch.
The 39-year-old Cape Town Mayor was elected at the DA’s federal congress on 12 April in Johannesburg, succeeding John Steenhuisen as federal leader. The congress, held every three years, drew over 2000 delegates from across the party’s structures, Andrea Martinez, DA Student Organisation (DASO) federal chairperson, told SMF News.
In his acceptance speech, Hill-Lewis introduced a four-point strategy to “continue to show that the DA governs well – for everyone”, centered on fiscal responsibility, competent appointments, functional institutions and consistent service delivery.
Jaco Londt, the DA’s Western Cape provincial chairperson, told SMF News that he felt an excitement amongst party members and the public following the election, which has been felt across the province.
Martinez described Hill-Lewis’s election as part of a broader “generational shift” across the party’s upper ranks. “If you look at the results of the full federal council election, the majority of all those positions are filled by people that are under 40,” she said. “It’s not just because they’re young, they are all qualified.”
However, it can be argued that there is a level of inexperience that comes with younger leadership. While Hill-Lewis is “genuinely respected”, Prof Nicola de Jager, a political science lecturer at Stellenbosch University (SU), cautioned against equating youth with better governance, because there is value in having a longer experience.
Lwando Nkamisa, a member of Stellenbosch’s executive mayoral committee for corporate services, believes Hill-Lewis will bring something his predecessors lacked. Because Hill-Lewis was a founding student of DASO at the University of Cape Town (UCT), Nkamisa believed that there would be a bigger focus on student-related issues.
Londt pointed to the fact that many of the new federal leaders were previously mayors, giving them a meaningful advantage as “you have people who have come through the ranks, so they know the incredibly difficult task [of being] a ward councillor”, he said.
Geordin Hill-Lewis, recently elected DA federal leader and Cape Town mayor, after his win at the party’s federal congress in Johannesburg on 12 April. PHOTO: Supplied/ X @Our_da
With municipal elections approaching in November, Martinez said DASO’s priorities are voter registration, NSFAS reform and providing what she called a “voice of reason” against campus populism. “Your municipality is the closest level of government to you. They directly impact your day-to-day life, and it’s so important that students vote,” she said.
Stellenbosch’s executive mayor, Jeremy Fasser, acknowledged the gap between the affluent town center and underserved areas like Kayamandi, Cloetesville and Ida’s Valley, which contradicts Hill-Lewis’s pledge to govern “for everyone”.
“We have budget constraints and it takes time to bring change into communities that previously did not receive the same level of services,” he said.
De Jager contextualised the deeper structural challenge facing the DA administration in a municipality like Stellenbosch. The fundamental issue, she said, is unemployment. “Unless we address the issue of employment, we are forever going to see these inequalities, and inequalities will naturally breed resentment and unhappiness on both sides.”
Londt stated that the DA’s capital spending record, towards previously disadvantaged areas, reflected their efforts to address these inequalities. He said, however, that these structural level changes require time and financial commitments that exceed federal leaders’ terms. “There’s no single budget in the municipal area that will be able to do it in a single year or possibly, even in a term,” he said.
Jeremy Fasser, Stellenbosch executive mayor and DA’s mayoral candidate for the November elections, unpacks the role of local governance. PHOTO: Supplied/Stellenbosch Municipality
On whether the federal leadership change translates to local government level, Fasser believed the two are not entirely separate. “A change in leadership filters down to local government,” he said, believing that it would affect their policies and manifesto. However, he drew a firm line between party and state because even as the provincial chair, “they cannot interfere in the running of the council”.
When asked whether federal leadership would influence local government in Stellenbosch, De Jager told SMF News, “I don’t see how it can make an enormous difference in terms of local elections.” She was clear the federal leadership does set direction. “It is expected that there would be influence coming from the DA centrally, of course, because it’s their policies. If you’re in local government, you will still be promoting DA policies.”
Nkamisa avoided commenting on Hill-Lewis’s influence on hyperlocal concerns, attributing recent progress on student issues, such as safety and accommodation to ward-level leadership rather than federal direction. “I think it’s a result of town centre having younger ward councillors, who have been students, who understand the plight of students,” he said.