The SACP in the Western Cape has threatened to march on the residence of Premier Helen Zille and other DA leaders.
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The South African Communist Party in the Western Cape has threatened to march on the residence of Premier Helen Zille and other DA leaders if the DA goes ahead with a march to the ANC headquarters on February 4.
The DA is awaiting permission for 6 000 members to march through the Johannesburg city centre to Luthuli House.
SACP provincial secretary Khaya Magaxa described the DA’s planned march as a “cheap and desperate election gimmick”.
Magaxa held a press conference at the end of the SACP’s two-day provincial executive meeting, which was aimed at outlining the party’s plan ahead of this year’s elections.
“The proposed march to Luthuli House will be contested and countered by the SACP in the province.
“We aim to mobilise progressive forces against the anti-majoritarian DA by embarking on a march to Helen Zille’s lush residence,” Magaxa said.
“We call on the DA to reconsider its plans to march to the ANC headquarters. As soon as they go with such a dirty march, they will get a response from us,” he said. His party regarded the DA’s march as a declaration of war against the ANC, he added.
“If the DA continues with that kind of a declaration of war to the ANC, we, as the Communist Party in the province, will march to all other DA members and leaders’ homes in the Western Cape and we are ready to face any consequence.
“That’s why we’re calling on them to respect the nature of democracy,” said Magaxa.
He claimed the DA was undermining ANC’s policies.
“The DA plan to march on Luthuli House was a serious provocation and threatens another party’s right to exist.”
According to the party, the SACP has about 10 000 members in the Western Cape.
“The party will mobilise communities across racial lines in all regions of the province in demonstrations of mass democratic participation. As the party, we once again declare that the DA-lead administration in the province has collapsed the Department of Human Settlements due to negligence and its narrow monopoly capital interest. The party will lead this struggle for decent housing and sanitation,” he said.
He said the SACP also aimed to aggressively strengthen the relationship with trade unions.
Zille described the SACP’s statement as a joke and said the DA was exercising its constitutional right to march to the ANC headquarters.
“If the SACP gets permission to march they can do that,” she said.
Zille said the DA’s march to Luthuli House was not declaration of war, but a party exercising democratic rights.
siyavuya.mzantsi@inl.co.za
Cape Times