South Africa - Johannesburg - 00 October 2024 - African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president, Collen Malatji, briefs members of the media at the party’s headquarter Luthuli House, on the up coming planned Economic Freedom march, aimed at raising awareness and demanding action on critical economic issues affecting the youth of South Africa.Picture: Itumeleng English/ Independent Newspapers
ANC Youth League president Collen Malatji has challenged the ANC in the Western Cape rise up to the occasion to become an active opposition in the province.
Speaking at the ANC Women’s League prayer gathering session known as Umanyano at the Thusong multi-purpose centre in Khayelitsha, Malatji said they have analysed and noticed that the DA-led government in Cape Town was overseeing a very poor population found primarily in townships and on farms.
“The DA-led government does not care about the livelihoods of our people in the Western Cape.
“We want the ANC here in the Western Cape to be an active opposition. We cant have an ANC that is not an active opposition in an area ,” he said.
Malatji claimed that farm workers were exploited every day by the DA-led government and their sponsors.
“The ANC cant keep quiet when such happens. The ANC-led government must be able to deliberately expose the DA-led government here, that they care nothing about black people.
“They want to continue with spatial structure of apartheid of displacing the majority of black people to stay in informal settlements where there is no dignity, no sanitation and no housing, where blacks live like animals while whites live better like humans. The prayer today must be about that and we say enough is enough.”
He called on women and youth to stand up to lead the next revolution for economic freedom in their lifetime.
Malatji also called for the restructuring of the economy.
“It can’t be right after 31 years that the economy of this country is owned by minorities and black people in the majority are the face of poverty.
“The ANC must be radically active and be deliberate to make sure that the economy goes to the hands of those that are in the majority in the country. Those in the majority are women, youth and black in colour. The economy of this country must reflect that.”
Malatji said it is not right that 31 years into democracy, Khayelitsha and Cape Town are still two different areas.
He said people had not voted for the ANC because they believed that it had neglected the second revolution for economic freedom in their lifetime.
“As the Youth League we say enough is enough. The economy must be deliberately restructured to benefit the majority of South Africans. There can’t be two people who are living in one country - those in Khayelitsha (are living) in poverty while others are living better in Cape Town - and we say that is normal,” he said.
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