Mr L Basson (DA)

What is your Political background?

I have been elected as the Councillor in 1995 in the Municipality of Madibeng in North West and at that time it was the local municipality of Brits. I have been a Councillor since 1995 and I have also been a caucus leader in the council which means I had served for 18 years. I have also been in the executive committee of the council for five years. It was only in 2014 that I made myself available to be elected as a Member of Parliament and I was elected on the DA’s national list. I have a technical background as I have studied in mechanical engineering. I am currently in the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation, which I had a lot of knowledge from my experience as a Councillor in a municipality like Madibeng that is struggling with water and sanitation.

What does my job as MP involve in detailed?

We are elected by South Africans to serve the wider community of the country and I have a passion in serving people and this is what I had been doing all along as a Councillor. I always told people when I grew up that politics is my hobby. I have been serving communities since 1994. We also have an oversight role to play over the Executive and the utilisation of public funds but we also have a role of serving the interests of people that elected us in Parliament and this was irrespective of political affiliation.

What is your impression of the fifth parliament so far?

I have not served in the fourth Parliament but the fourth Parliament but have been different to the fifth Parliament as there are now new political parties and new way of doing things. Politics have changed a lot and the stronghold of the governing party has decreased and that is why you would see that the DA has taken over a number of metros. People are more interested in services and my priority is to ensure that people are able to get quality services where we govern and make sure that there is accountability in where we do not govern.

What is your constituency? What is most interesting about your constituency so far?

My constituency is Madibeng and this is located in the North West province and this place lies between Rustenburg, Pretoria and Krugersdorp. We are involved in driving water purification in the area as there is a new water purification plant that had been built. The availability of safe drinking water is the big problem in my constituency. There is still thousands of people in my constituency that do not have access to safe drinking water and this was not because of drought but poor maintenance and lack of infrastructure.

What are you passionate about?-this applies both in a political/professional and personal?

I am passionate about politics and I made this a career. I am also very much interested in properties as I have been in the property industry for many years. Sport wise, I am a rugby and cricket fan although rugby at the moment is little bit struggling. I am a Stormers supporter in rugby

My message to South Africans:

I think people should get involved in politics as there is still too much eligible people that do not vote. We need everyone to make their choices so that we could get a better government and hold accountable to whoever that is government. We must be passionate about our country and get people to believe in our country and not being negative. There is a future for all of us in this country and this was irrespective of which racial group you are. We have got to take hands and work together for our children and grandchildren’s future.