Chris Pappas: Who is DA’s KZN Premier candidate?

Democratic Alliance Federal leader John Steenhuisen has announced uMngeni mayor Christopher ‘Chris’ Pappas as the party’s premier candidate in KwaZulu-Natal for the 2024 general elections.

Steenhuisen made the announcement at the Durban City Hall on Monday, 25 September. 

DA ANNOUNCES ITS KZN PREMIER CANDIDATE

During the briefing, Steenhuisen said Pappas is a dynamic young leader who walks the walk and has made the uMngeni municipality a shining beacon on the hill while the rest of KZN lies in ruin.

Steenhuisen said time has come to kick the ANC out of KZN and that Chris Pappas was the man to lead that mission and provide hope where the ANC has only provided misery, hunger, maladministration, and poverty. 

“The beacon of light on the hill in uMngeni could be the light that leads to change throughout the entire province,” he said. 

ALSO READ: DA-run uMngeni Local Municipality achieves clean audit

“Manje, sekuyisikhathi sokuba siqine isibindi sokuthi sishintshe ivoti.

Facing challenges and uncertainty, it’s tempting to stick with the familiar. Instead, let’s be courageous and create a new future. ” – Chris Pappas

Let’s rescue KZN!

📺 Full speech: https://t.co/qU3mfCaHvZ pic.twitter.com/RYjtezHCih

— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) September 26, 2023

“Manje, sekuyisikhathi sokuba siqine isibindi sokuthi sishintshe ivoti.

Facing challenges and uncertainty, it’s tempting to stick with the familiar. Instead, let’s be courageous and create a new future. ” – Chris Pappas

Let’s rescue KZN!

📺 Full speech: https://t.co/qU3mfCaHvZ pic.twitter.com/RYjtezHCih— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) September 26, 2023

HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT CHRIS PAPPAS 

• Pappas, 30, has won the hearts of many South Africans as a Zulu-speaking and openly gay mayor who strives for excellent governance.
• Pappas grew up in Mooi River, a small town in KwaZulu-Natal and matriculated from the prestigious Hilton College in 2009.
• The 30-year-old’s political career kicked off while he was studying urban and regional planning at the University of Pretoria. He was also the temporary president of the university’s student representative council (SRC).
• He has been a part of the DA’s KZN legislature since 2019 and has been the party’s deputy provincial leader since 2021. 
• In just 12 months after taking over from the ANC, the uMngeni Local Municipality received a clean audit from the Auditor General.Earlier this month, Pappas was named in the TIME100 Next 2023 list of future leaders. The list which is put together by world experts recognises rising leaders in health, climate, business, sports, the arts and more who have achieved peak influence in the various fields.