By Mzolisi Witbooi
At the 95th anniversary celebrations of the ANC in Hout Bay on Sunday, Cosatu Western Cape secretary Tony Ehrenreich slammed the ruling party for dragging its heels in the land redistribution process and reiterated his call for land grabs.
At the same rally, ANC provincial chairperson James Ngculu launched a scathing attack on Eastern Cape DA leader Athol Trollip and Cape Town mayor Helen Zille for "exploiting their use of Xhosa" in a bid to lure blacks to the official opposition party.
Ngculu told members of the tripartite alliance - the ANC, Cosatu and South African Communist Party - that: "Trollip is a farmer in Bedford. We all know that farmers who speak Xhosa, Tsonga and Sotho have a history of oppressing our people.
"He (Trollip) has been beating up our people."
"Zille has been oppressing domestics."
"Helen Zille's Xhosa is actually very poor."
"They should know that speaking Xhosa is not a barometer for measuring the progressiveness or liberalness of the people."
Earlier, Ehrenreich told the Cape Argus that "leadership (of the alliance) needs to be more radical and forthright in dealing with fundamental questions such as the land question".
"In order for the land redistribution to be realised, the government has to release funds to further the process," he said.
Referring to Hout Bay, Ehrenreich proposed that owners of the land needed for development be compensated at apartheid prices.
On the podium, he told the crowd that: "When I last came here, I said take the land."
"Today, some people are expecting me to make an apology. There's no apology due to them."
"Instead they must come to apologise to the people of Hout Bay for denying them the land that rightfully belongs to them.
"Maybe we should tell them that there's no land for them here."
"Wealthy ratepayers do not want the land to be developed because it would lower their property values."
Ehrenreich added that the "land battle in Hout Bay is unfolding in the courts - a conducive ground for the wealthy".
Shouting a popular anti-apartheid slogan, "an injury to one is an injury to all", he vowed that Cosatu would take the battle to Hout Bay where "the people are oppressed".
Ehrenreich then lashed out at former anti-apartheid activists who had become rich, labelling them "the bourgeoisie" and saying that they had discarded the ideals of the struggle.
"Others are in the government and they are paid several times what apartheid government officials were paid," he said.
The rally was also attended by ANC provincial secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha, former ANC chief whip Garth Strachan, and provincial Social Development and Poverty Alleviation MEC Kholeka Mqulwana.
Also attending was ANC Women's League deputy secretary Kiki Rwexana.
During the opening ceremony, the national anthem was led by MP Nosipho Ntwanambi without the English and Afrikaans verses.
People who died in the liberation struggle were honoured at the event.
Tribute was also paid to former uMkhonto weSizwe cadre and The Big Issue managing director Richard Ishmail.
Ishmail died on Wednesday last week after being knifed at his home the previous Sunday.