An independent Cape would be a beacon of hope

A war of words and threats has emerged as a result of the DA’s Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill (WCPPB).

This piece of legislation, which aims to achieve greater devolution to the Western Cape government, has been branded as “secessionist” by the ANC, with their allies in the SACP vowing to make the province “ungovernable”.

For a supposed liberation movement that brought “democracy” to South Africa, they are seeking to undermine democracy in the Western Cape at every opportunity.

I was due to deliver an oral submission at the WCPPB public hearing in Moorreesburg on the January 30, 2024. Upon arrival at the packed town hall, there was a sizeable protest taking place inside the venue (consisting of mostly ANC members), in an attempt to delay the start of the proceedings.

The event was scheduled to start at 5pm, yet the protests continued and this culminated in the event being suspended at 6pm, with no presentation or statements being made.

Throughout this entire ordeal, there was a significant police presence outside the venue, yet they either were not asked to or refused to intervene to remove the unruly ANC members.

In Moorreesburg at least, the ANC had succeeded in making the event “ungovernable”.

The same disruption took place a few days later at the Provincial Parliament. A large contingency of ANC and EFF supporters stormed the building and attempted to break through a metal security barrier in order to gain access to the parliamentary chamber.

“One settler, one bullet” was chanted as they did so. The ANC have framed their fight against the WCPPB as a fight against the white minority and are thus using the language of the struggle to justify using any tactics to oppose it. In reality, they are up against the overwhelming majority of Western Cape people from all races and backgrounds who seek greater autonomy for the province and have demonstrated this by overwhelmingly voting for pro-autonomy parties in recent elections.

These recent actions by the ANC represent a clear disregard for the democratic will of the Western Cape people and their right to self-determination. Their actions are tantamount to imperialism.

During their time in government, the DA have been remarkably unsuccessful in delivering autonomy for the Western Cape.

While the WCPPB is a step in the right direction, on its own the legislation is largely futile and continues to leave us beholden to a corrupt ANC national government.

In 2019, Premier Alan Winde was elected on a manifesto of fighting for devolution of policing and rail to the Western Cape government.

For the past five years, not only have these requests been constantly denied, but ridiculed by the national government.

If the DA is serious about protecting the well-being of the Western Cape people, they must recognise that devolution is not the solution. The Western Cape people desire and need control over their economic policy, their security policy, their border policy, and their tax money. This is something only Cape Independence can deliver.

If the people of the Western Cape want Cape Independence, they are going to have to vote for it in 2024.

Independence parties have grown considerably in recent years and with a consolidation of efforts likely to occur in the lead-up to these critical elections, they pose a serious threat to the DA’s provincial majority. If the DA loses just over 5 percentage points of the provincial vote to secessionist parties, they will be forced into a coalition government. If this happens, a coalition with either the FF Plus or Referendum Party, or both, would lead to a referendum on Cape Independence. An independent Cape, making its own laws,and determining its own international relations would not be chained to the disastrous policies and consequences of an ANC government.

It would be able to achieve its potential and would enable the people of the Western Cape to build a first world country on Africa’s southern tip.

* King is a politics, philosophy, and economics student, economy spokesperson for the Referendum Party and co-founder of the Cape Youth Front.

Cape Times