Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency (ANA)
Cape Town - The City will go head-to-head with the EFF in the Western Cape High Court on Friday as the municipality has taken legal action to ensure the party do not threaten businesses or cause any disruptions during their planned national shutdown.
The City filed an urgent interdict application on Tuesday with mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, stating that while the party and other participants have a right to protest next Monday, attempts to incite or participate in looting, vandalism, and disruption will not be tolerated.
The interdict aims to ensure the organisers and participants stay within the confines of the law and permit them to march to the national Parliament buildings to hand over a memorandum.
“Cape Town will be open for business as usual, and authorities are well prepared and equipped to deal with what is likely to be only limited isolated attempts at disruption by the EFF.
“Should any damage to public infrastructure occur on Monday, the City will not hesitate to lay a civil claim against the EFF given their public threats made to date. We are focused on growing the economy and getting more people into work so they can earn a living and thrive. There will be no national shutdown in Cape Town,” said Hill-Lewis.
DA leader John Steenhuisen held a media briefing after the application was filed, saying the DA was also seeking a court interdict against the EFF leadership to formally retract all intimidating letters already issued, including to OR Tambo International Airport, warning the airport authority not to allow any flights or business activity.
ActionSA also condemned the planned shutdown, claiming it was mass anarchy and lawlessness, and that businesses that do not voluntarily shut down may be subjected to looting.
Other parties, including the UDM, the Land Party, and the SA Federation of Trade Unions have indicated they will participate in the action.
EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Thambo said they had noted the DA’s legal action intentions as an “anti-democratic publicity stunt” which was frivolous and misguided.
The party said the DA made baseless claims including of intimidation and violence which was part of the “DA’s racist philosophical outlook and the racist presumption” that Africans had no capacity to express themselves in a peaceful manner.
“The DA has at this stage only applied for an interdict against the national shutdown in the City of Cape Town, as it reveals their narrow fetish to categorise the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape as a province separate from South Africa.
“The conditions in the Western Cape are dire, particularly for black people who live on the outskirts of wealth, suffer a lack of service delivery and experience poverty as a quality life is reserved for white people in the province.
The people of South Africa, including those in the Western Cape, are tired of the conditions in this country. The massive unemployment, high rate of crime and gender-based violence, lack of service delivery, corruption and the continued rolling electricity blackouts can no longer be tolerated,” said Thambo.
Cape Times