/ 22 January 2014

DA takes ‘fight for jobs’ to Luthuli house

Helen Zille said the Democratic Alliance would expose the ANC's manifesto pledge of creating six million job opportunities as 'bogus'.
Helen Zille said the Democratic Alliance would expose the ANC's manifesto pledge of creating six million job opportunities as 'bogus'.

Six-thousand DA supporters will march to the ANC's Luthuli House headquarters next month to take the "fight for jobs" to the ruling party, DA leader Helen Zille said on Wednesday.

"Each DA supporter will represent 1 000 unemployed South Africans who will benefit from the six million real jobs that the DA will create if elected to national government," she said in a statement.

"We are taking the fight to Luthuli House to highlight the failure of [President] Jacob Zuma's ANC to cut corruption and create jobs."

Zille said the Democratic Alliance would expose the ANC's manifesto pledge of creating six million job opportunities as "bogus".

The march would take place on February 4. She accused Zuma of misleading people.

"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," she said.

Peaceful
Zille said the DA had informed the Johannesburg metro police and the ANC's secretary general Gwede Mantashe about the march.

"We have guaranteed him that our march will be peaceful, and that we expect our constitutional right to gather and protest to be respected," she said.

In 2012, a DA march for a youth wage subsidy to the Cosatu head office in Braamfontein turned violent.

Cosatu members threw rocks at DA supporters as they made their way to the lawns of the Jo'burg (formerly the Civic) Theatre, 50m away from the trade union federation's office.

Riot police were called to the scene and tear gas and water cannons were fired. – Sapa