A large fence has been erected to create a barricade in streets around the ANC’s Luthuli House headquarters as DA marchers protest against load-shedding, the recent Eskom tariff increase and the ruling party’s cadre deployment policy.

DA leader John Steenhuisen led an estimated 2,500 supporters from Mary Fitzgerald Square in the Johannesburg CBD to Luthuli House, where police cordoned off parts of the vicinity, creating a barricade between DA and ANCYL supporters who had earlier vowed to “defend” the ruling party headquarters.

There is a heavy police and Johannesburg metro police presence. A police nyala carrying barbed wire is parked near the ANC headquarters. A police officer told TimesLIVE they were ordered to erect the fence to prevent conflict between the two groups.

There were two brief incidents, with ANCYL members chasing away DA members who  approached their end of the barricade and when ANC members faced off with police.

Ahead of the march Steenhuisen said the reason the march was heading to Luthuli House was because this is where decisions by the ANC government regarding the energy crisis have been taken.

“South Africans are unable to cook, study or get hot water to wash. Unemployment is the highest in the world. It has been 15 years of load-shedding. The ANC knew about the problem in 1998. They were warned if they didn’t build new power stations we would be in trouble by 2007.”

He said 15 years later, Medupi and Kusile — the biggest power stations in the world — weren’t complete due to poor leadership and corruption within the ranks of the ANC.

DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga said: “South Africa has a cancer called the ANC and we won’t get it right until we remove this cancer from our system.”

LISTEN | Eskom matters should be directed to the power utility: ANCYL on DA march

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