Statement by Cllr Georgina Faldtman – DA EC Provincial Spokesperson:
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Eastern Cape is proud to announce Cllr Lorraine Smith-Johnson as our Blue Crane Route Local Municipality Mayoral Candidate for the 2026 Local Government Elections.
Today, I was joined by DA Zuurberg Constituency Leader, Dr Malcolm Figg MPL, at Francisvale Hall in KwaNojoli (formerly Somerset East), where Lorraine accepted her nomination and announced that she is ready to lead the DA campaign for the upcoming local elections.
Lorraine is born and bred in KwaNojoli and worked in the education sector for 39 years. She was elected as DA Ward 5 councillor during a by-election in 2023 and during the first year of her term donated her full council salary to uplift the community. Since then, she has continued to donate portions of her council salary in support of the neighbourhood watch, youth sports initiatives, soup kitchens, schools, and an old age home.
A true example of servant leadership, Lorraine works to resolve the issues that face residents and is a regular sight walking the streets and knocking on doors to personally interact with the community she serves.
The Blue Crane Route Municipality is balanced on a knife-edge, with the DA and ANC each having five seats in the 11 seat Council. This followed after we won an ANC ward in Pearston in 2024.
The people of this municipality have made it clear that they are sick and tired of living without water, electricity and basic services. They are tired of suffering due to a collapsing economy and rampant unemployment. They are fed-up of the ANC’s broken promises.
The DA believes in Lorraine and we are fully behind her to lead us to a majority government in Blue Crane Route.
With Lorraine as our Mayoral Candidate, the DA is ready to bring service delivery and clean governance to the municipality and get Blue Crane Route working.