Speaking in support of DA mayoral candidate, Solly Msimanga, at the DA’s "We can win" rally at the Freedom Park Amphitheatre on Saturday, Maimane said those who thought it impossible for the DA to win Tshwane would be proved wrong on August 3.

"These local elections will be the most important since 1994. We can win Tshwane, Nelson Mandela Bay, and Johannesburg, and bring the real change that the cities need to move forward," he said.

Voting for the African National Congress had been "right" when former president Nelson Mandela was still the ANC leader, but that ANC no longer existed.

"The ANC of Nelson Mandela promised us so much. The dream Nelson Mandela had no longer lives in the ANC, but it’s better encapsulated in the democratic alliance… The ANC of Nelson Mandela is no longer the ANC of today. The ANC of today under [President] Jacob Zuma, is the ANC of corruption, of scandal, of the Guptas," Maimane said.

"That is what has become of the ANC, the party that once fought for freedom and non-racialism, the party that once fought for our right to make free choices, they have nothing left to offer voters - no plan for our towns and cities, no plan to grow the economy and create jobs, no plan to improve the lives of poor South Africans.

"All they have left is desperate racial mobilisation as they try to cling to power. I wonder what Madiba would have said if he could see this for himself. Jacob Zuma’s ANC could not be further from Madiba’s ANC if they tried. They have abandoned everything he stood for, and it will cost them dearly," Maimane said.

While the DA was fighting for jobs for everyone, the ANC insisted on empowering only the politically connected few. The ANC was divided and unstable and would not be able to deliver for the people of Tshwane.

"That’s why they decided to replace Sputla [current mayor Sputla Ramokgopa] with Thoko [Didiza] and when they are finished they will replace Thoko with someone else."

The upcoming elections were more critical than ever, because the ANC was taking South Africa in the wrong direction, Maimane said.

The DA will also hold "We can win" rallies in Nelson Mandela Bay, Johannesburg, and Soweto.

ANA