By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) marched to Luthuli House to express dissatisfaction with what it calls an “ANC manufactured electricity crisis”.
The estimated 1,500 marchers included DA leader John Steenhuisen, party Chief Whip Siviwe Gwarube, Western Cape premier Alan Winde, Gauteng leader Solly Msimango, the mayors of Gauteng’s three metropolitan municipalities — Tania Campbell, Mpho Phalatse and Randall Williams — as well as Mogale mayor Tyrone Gray.
Chief whip of the official opposition, Siviwe Gwarube, said “the country is in a state of crisis, and we can’t afford not to express our anger against this ANC-manufactured crisis.”
Gwarube added, the ANC, through its cadre deployment and appointing of unqualified members, all in the name of them being party loyalists, created a crisis in our state-owned entities.
She said it was what sparked the DA’s decision to conduct a “peaceful” march to Luthuli House. “We applied for the requisite permission to march, and it was granted to us; there is no harm posed to the ANC property,” Gwarube said.
The crowd gathered in the park just outside the Johannesburg public library, just metres from Luthuli House, not in front of the building.
“We are facing a serious crisis in South Africa. The crisis lies in Luthuli House where the crooks of the ANC sit,” DA Gauteng provincial leader Solly Msimango told them.
We have arrived at Luthuli House. South Africans want to #endloadshedding now!#PowerToThePeopleMarch pic.twitter.com/hztdEJ7umc
— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) January 25, 2023
Meanwhile buses carrying ANC members from across the province slowly trickled in, while those gathered outside Luthuli House continued to sing Struggle songs, with others carrying sjamboks ahead of what was anticipated to be a violent march reminiscent of 2016.
According to the youth league’s national organiser, Tlangi Mogale, the DA should keep a 100m distance or hell will break loose.
“We are here as the ANC Youth League because we have the responsibility to protect and preserve the gains of the ANC liberation struggles. Chief among those is the right to encourage peace and stability. The DA is grandstanding on the matters of the energy crisis issues faced by the country. There is no political party that can wake up any day and decide to march to another political party’s headquarters.”
If the DA was “genuine” about fixing those issues, “facing without apportioning it to a political party”, it “must take those possible solutions to Megawatt Park where the Eskom offices lie, not at ANC office
ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe echoed the same sentiments, that the Eskom crisis was not an ANC but a government problem.
“They are actually talking about government, yet they are directing their efforts toward the ANC. I mean, this is nothing else but the DA preparing grounds for next year’s electioneering. South Africans are not interested. The ANC has already said it will stand by the people and contribute towards finding lasting solutions. We have invited members of civil society and industry experts to participate in our energy dialogue today, “he said.