Pretoria - DA Gauteng premier candidate Solly Msimanga has encouraged more young people to take part in the election and vote for change. He spoke at a voting station at Capital Park Primary school in Pretoria, where he went to cast his vote.
Msimanga was accompanied by his wife, Monde, and DA leader Mmusi Maimane.
He said this year's general election had been exciting and tiring at the same time.
"I have got the same feeling that I got in 2016 (municipal election), but more than anything I am tired. I started running this campaign when I was still the mayor of the City of Tshwane. We have run the longest campaign of all the political parties," he said.
He expressed confidence that the DA would emerge victorious after the polls because he believed he had run a good election campaign.
"It was an exciting campaign and at the same time it has been a sad campaign because one got exposed to the stark realities of the province; like the abject poverty that I have seen in some parts of the province," he said.
Video: Rapula Moatshe
He bemoaned the fact that poverty levels continued to worsen despite Gauteng being the richest province.
"More and more young people are unemployed and more and more are becoming unemployable. Gangs of crime are developing in certain parts of the province,"he said.
He said that a DA government would prioritise a fight against corruption and crime.
"We need to stop the bleeding of funds towards corrupt hands. If you do that you are going to make sure that there is enough money so that you can channel enough money into service delivery. We need to make sure we have a capable police," Msimanga said.
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