Johannesburg - Despite threats and intimidation from members of the ANC Youth League, the DA and its leaders marched to Luthuli House, taking the fight against load shedding to the ruling party’s headquarters.
The current blackouts continue even in the midst of a National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa)-approved 18.65% Eskom tariff hike.
The march also comes just days after Eskom announced permanent power cuts for the next two years.
Some businesses have had to close down due to the endless power crisis, which in turn has crippled various sectors of the economy.
Speaking after the DA had marched to Luthuli House from the City Library Gardens, DA leader John Steenhuisen said the march was not about anything else but about taking power from the ANC, which has proven that it does not have the interests of South African citizens at heart.
“This march is about taking power back from the ANC. It is about taking power not from the government but from the people. That is why we are here today ... We have been asked why we are not marching to Megawatt Park but to Luthuli House ... The answer is simple: when you have a problem, you go to the root cause of the problem and you address it there,“ he said.
Steenhuisen said the country does not have an Eskom problem but an ANC problem, which is why the march was directed at the ruling party, which makes up the bulk of the Cabinet in the National Assembly.
“We do not have an Eskom problem or a Nersa problem. We have an ANC problem in South Africa. We can’t be wasting our time at the Union Buildings or Megawatt Park. We are coming right to the source. You only have to look at that house (Luthuli House). That is ground zero of our problems and the corruption crisis and cadre deployment in South Africa,“ Steenhuisen said.
Businessman and billionaire Rob Hersov told DA supporters gathered at the Beyers Naude Square that the ANC and president Cyril Ramaphosa had failed the country by failing to provide a working solution to the Eskom crisis.
“I am not afraid of those criminals in Luthuli House who have stolen your future. They will not steal your children’s future, ANC and Luthuli House, voetsek. And I am saying to you, Cyril Ramaphosa, that you are a disgrace to your friends, your family, your party, the continent, and the world. You should resign, and so should your cabinet,” Hersov said.
Hersov said he lobbied South Africans to vote for the DA in next year’s elections. He said the DA was the only credible party that could ensure that all South Africans have a bright future free of load shedding.
“I am saying to you, you need to vote for change. This is your last chance in 2024. We have one last chance to rid this country of the cancer that is Luthuli House. Join the countdown to change,“ he said.
No one from the ANC came out to acknowledge the DA march and the concerns the party raised during the march. However, some of the ANC Youth League leaders came out to protect the ANC headquarters and rallied support from the ANC members who sang and danced ahead of the march.
ANC Youth League leader Nonceba Mhlauli told The Star that the DA march was misplaced as the ANC is not directly responsible for the country's energy crisis.
“This is yet another cheap political goal scoring from the DA. This march to the ANC headquarters is misplaced. The DA is the official opposition in the country, but they are not directing their questions and issues where they are supposed to direct them, which is to parliament.
“Eskom was at Scopa two days ago, but the DA did not ask any principled questions about Eskom there. Instead, they want to come here and provoke members of another political party instead of doing their job as the opposition to hold the executive accountable,“ she said.
The march, which almost turned ugly when some members of the ANC tried to barge into the fence erected to separate ANC supporters from DA supporters gathered at the city hall park, was uneventful except for the singing and chanting of Struggle songs from both parties, with the SAPS and Metro Police ensuring law and order was kept in check.
Normal traffic was diverted on Market and Pixley ka Isaka Seme streets for the better part of the day as several streets in the Johannesburg CBD were closed to ensure the march continued unhindered.
The DA began their march from Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, with various DA leaders, including Kevin Mileham, Ghaleb Cachalia, and Siviwe Gwarube, addressing the party’s supporters who had gathered there ahead of the march.
The party then took their march to Luthuli House, with DA leader John Steenhuisen addressing the crowd following a successful showing at City Library Park, a stone’s throw away from the ANC headquarters.
The Star