DA leader Hellen Zille announced that she would lead 6 000 South Africans to Luthuli House on 4 February, demanding “six-million real jobs”.
Following the ANC’s launch of its election manifesto, the DA has labelled the ruling party’s promise to create six-million job opportunities, if it won the 2014 election, as “bogus”.
According to Zille, President Jacob Zuma had been misleading South Africans with false job promises and despite his pledge to create five-million jobs when he was elected in 2009, 1.4 million people have since become unemployed.
“We are taking the fight to Luthuli House to highlight the failure of Jacob Zuma’s ANC to cut corruption and create jobs,” Zille said.
Dismissing the ANC’s job promises, Zille said, “These are not real jobs. They are temporary public works placements that will do little to grow the economy and lift people out of poverty permanently and sustainably.”
Zille has assured the Johannesburg Metro police and ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe that the march will be peaceful.
However, ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said the opposition party’s march was a “recipe for chaos”.
“We do not agree on policy; what would the march achieve other than conflict?” Mthembu asked.
“It [the march] goes against the grain of political tolerance that has been sustained […] the DA has a right to march but it comes with a responsibility.”
He said that the DA’s planned march to Luthuli House was “provocative” and “adventurous” and appeared to be an effort “to force its policy outlook on the ANC arrogantly”, adding that the DA could rather march to the government offices that implement the ANC’s policies or to the President’s office.
Mthembu said he hoped that Zille would reconsider her decision to march to Luthuli House, adding that the DA had ample platforms, such as Parliament, to challenge the ANC on policy.
In 2012, the DA marched to the headquarters of the ANC-affiliated Cosatu over the youth wage subsidy, which resulted in violent clashes.
