ANCYL to march again on Zille

DESPITE complaints to the police and calls for President Jacob Zuma to intervene, the ANC Youth League said it will again march on the office of Western Cape premier Helen Zille on Monday.

The league's regional chairman Khaya Yozi, who is also a ward councillor in Nyanga township, declared August 27 "a public holiday", promising that the league along with some of its partners will make Cape Town's CBD "ungovernable".

Zille and Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille have complained to police that the ANCYL's call was tantamount to intimidation, and last week said they would request the State Security Agency to probe the league's role in service delivery protests.

While the ANCYL had called on Zille to accept its memorandum, her response was that she would accept their demands only if their withdrew their call to make Cape Town ungovernable.

Zille said: "Accepting your memorandum on Monday would be tantamount to condoning these threats and the violent protests that have followed in the past four weeks."

Instead Zille called on the ANCYL to issue a public apology if they wanted her to accept their memorandum, and "engage in a constructive manner".

But Yozi said Zille's claim that it was involved in protests in which four people lost their lives was "unfounded and baseless". "We believe it's the government of the Western Cape that failed these people, which led to the subsequent deaths through violent protests. If anyone should be held responsible it is Helen Zille and the DA government should be arrested and jailed," said Yozi.

The ANCYL is demanding the planned closure of 27 schools by the Western Cape department of education be halted, and also that the planned Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) expansion to Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain be halted pending proper consultation with "stakeholders".

Yozi warned should there be no consultation, specifically about the consortium to operate the BRT service, no buses will be allowed to "set foot in Khayelitsha or any other area".

ANCYL regional secretary Mfuzo Zenzile said they would defy city and police authorities by marching from Salt River Railway Station instead of the preferred location of Kaizergracht Street near the city centre.

"We've got a right to march from anywhere we want to ... we believe that we had a very peaceful march (on July 27), we did not disturb any business and we never received any complaints from the public, the police or the city," said Zenzile.