Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster announced as BOSA's Gauteng premier candidate

She will lead the party's election campaign in the province in the run-up to the May 29 elections.

Hlazo-Webster was announced by party leader Mmusi Maimane at an event held in Soweto on Tuesday.

She will face off against incumbent ANC Premier Panyaza Lesufi, and other contenders such as the DA's Solly Msimanga, RISE Mzansi's Vuyiswa Ramokgopa, ActionSA's Funzi Ngobeni and EFF's Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.

Hlazo-Webster is the co-founder and deputy leader of BOSA.

"The last female candidate who stood as premier in Gauteng ended up receiving braai packs. I am comfortable to know that the next Gauteng premier, as a woman, will be making sure that our children can benefit from a province that prospers,” said Maimane.

“To deliver a job in every home, a safer place.”

 In her acceptance speech, Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster committed to ensuring that Gauteng becomes a place of opportunity again.

"Fellow South Africans, it’s not that place today. You don’t need me to tell you that.

“You know that it is not that place because today because sewage runs on the streets, garbage piles up on street corners, there are schools standing incomplete for years while children sit in crowded classrooms, too many Gautengers do not have a dignified shelter to call home, too many are without work, crime is rampant - nobody except the criminals is safe.

“What used to be Gauteng, the place of resistance for change, what for a short window became Gauteng, the place of opportunity, is today Gauteng, the place of diminishing hope and a deferred dream.

“Today, we draw a line in the sand and commit to building this province into the powerhouse it can become," she said.

Hlazo-Webster said under BOSA,  Gauteng will be a place of economic growth.

“Gauteng will be the place to be for communities who want to work together with business and public sector leaders to make the country a better place to be. Gauteng will be the epicentre of innovation not only for South Africa, but on the continent.

“Gauteng will pioneer bustling township economies and be the home of healthy communities and families.

“The streets will be safe, people will work. There will be a job in every home," vowed Hlazo-Webster.

READ THE FULL SPEECH BELOW: