ANC Youth League Western Cape distances itself from unlawful and disgusting forms of protest action
The ANC Youth League in the Western Cape fully sympathises with community sentiments behind quests for decent sanitation. However from the very onset we have consistently distanced ourselves from all unlawful and disgusting actions such as those that were witnessed at the steps of the Provincial Building which houses the Premier's Offices. We have called upon our members and the affected communities to only engage in democratic forms of protest.
It is unfortunate that detractors aver that it was ANC Youth League members who threw faeces on Monday 6 August 2013. These individuals neither claimed to be members of the Youth League nor have they stated that they are undertaking these actions in the name of the Youth League.
The membership of these protesters can only be properly verified through the office of the Provincial Coordinator of the ANC Youth League in the Western Cape. As the structures of the Youth League have largely been dormant in the province it would be presumptuous to state beyond reasonable doubt that they are indeed members.
Instead of spewing propaganda about the ANC Youth League, the DA should focus on addressing the sanitation crisis in the Western Cape; a call that has also been made by the South African Human Rights Commission and other organisations.
The DA must stop denying that there is a sanitation crisis in the province. They must not shift our focus away from the basic needs of our people. Camping bucket toilets (Porta Pottis) that only rinse with expensive chemicals are undignified and present health risks. The City of Cape Town fails to even provide these chemicals. According to the City's own information forty percent of people living in informal settlements have absolutely no access to any form of sanitation.
The ANC Youth League is currently engaging with our National Minister of Human Settlements around finding solutions to the sanitation crisis in the Western Cape. We will put together a special working group to conduct our own investigation into the sanitation crisis and will propose alternatives to the Porta Pottis. The ANC Youth League will also conduct an investigation to see if the DA has made any material progress in the provision of decent sanitation which is a local government constitutional competency.
Statement issued by Muhammad Khalid Sayed, ANC Youth League Western Cape Provincial Task Team (PTT) Convenor, August 6 2013
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