Cosatu not part of ANCYL march

Cape Town-120420-COSATU, SADTU and various school principals met at 85 Kasselsvlei Road in Bellville South this morning to discuss Minister Donald Grant's proposal to close down 27 Western Cape Schools. In pic is Tony Ehrenreich-Reporter-Ilse-Photographer-Tracey Adams

Cape Town-120420-COSATU, SADTU and various school principals met at 85 Kasselsvlei Road in Bellville South this morning to discuss Minister Donald Grant's proposal to close down 27 Western Cape Schools. In pic is Tony Ehrenreich-Reporter-Ilse-Photographer-Tracey Adams

Published Aug 27, 2012

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Cape Town -

Cosatu, which the ANC Youth League has listed as an ally in its economic freedom march in Cape Town, will not be taking part.

Cosatu provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich said although they supported the youth league’s campaign to help the poor, they would not be part of the march to Western Cape Premier Helen Zille’s office on Monday.

The union federation was against making the city ungovernable.

“We support law and order and we support the communities that are suffering. The violence and deaths that these protests come with are unacceptable. We are not blaming anyone, but we all should be responsible,” Ehrenreich said.

The ANCYL says it is expecting about 14 000 people at the march to the provincial legislature

The march is the first of many the youth league plans to stage on the 27th of each month until their demands are met.

The league and its allies are decrying lack of services to poorer communities and the proposed closure of 27 schools. They also called for the proposed youth wage subsidy to be scrapped.

Supported by the SA Students Congress, the SA National Civics Congress, the Congress of South African Students, the Islamic Unity Convention, the Congress for Democratic Taxi Associations and Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association, the youth plan to assemble at Salt River station at 9.30am.

From there, they will march along Main Road in Salt River and Woodstock to the provincial legislature to hand a memorandum to Zille.

They said they had mobilised residents from as far afield as Sir Lowry’s Pass, Gugulethu and Khayelitsha.

The league has undertaken to keep the march peaceful.

And Zille has also reassured Capetonians that there will be no traffic disruptions.

The police and the city’s metro police will be on standby to monitor the protests. They said they would not tolerate lawlessness and intimidation of members of the public, but the league’s secretary in the Cape metro, Mfuzo Zenzile, said they would maintain order.

“We want to ensure that there is no chaos that erupts on the day. We don’t want instances that will paint the image of the youth league in a bad light,” Zenzile said.

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Cape Times

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