Cape Town – The ANC has urged the DA to speed up service delivery particularly in coloured and African communities or be prepared for a revolt by the people using tactics such as land invasions.
ANC provincial spokesperson for human settlement Andile Lili was reacting to a statement from the DA’s constituency head for Durbanville/Blaauwberg Emma Powell, who said: “The DA notes the recent land invasion attempts in Witsand, Atlantis. These attempts have been ongoing since last weekend and City of Cape Town’s law enforcement agencies have conducted a number of anti-land invasion operations on site since the situation was first escalated. Unfortunately, the situation remains volatile.
“These, and any other attempts to invade City-owned land will not be tolerated. The provincial government has recently built a new school for learners of the community on a land parcel adjacent to the recent land invasion site and the situation, if not resolved, may put the school and its future learners at risk.
“Sadly the national disaster management regulations as well as a recent Western Cape High Court interdict, prevent the City from protecting land once a structure is erected. We therefore only have one option which is to guard against land invasions as they occur.
“The DA in Atlantis is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to work with officials from the City to make sure that the situation does not escalate. Residents are encouraged to contact the law enforcement’s anti-land invasion unit or the ward and PR councillors for Atlantis should they suspect that land is under threat of invasion.”
Lili said: “As the ANC in the province we don’t support the land invasion that is taking place, however, we understand the pace the DA is moving is even worse than a tortoise. Therefore we call upon the DA to speed up service delivery, in particular in coloured and African communities.
“Otherwise very soon the masses will revolt against the poor administration of the DA. It’s only in the media that the DA cares about people. On the ground you will see the reality that our people are exposed to bad conditions.
“If we are going to local elections this year, people must wake up and make sure that this DA is dealt with. It is our submission that the masses get out of their homes for once and teach the DA a lesson that they will never forget in their lives and make sure that the arrogance of DA is dealt with accordingly.”
Cape Argus