The political situation in the Western Cape has become untenable. The DA is not going to call a referendum on Cape Independence without being pressured into doing so, which is precisely what the Referendum Party now intends to do.
“The Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG) never intended to make voters choose between voting DA and supporting Cape Independence, but in refusing to honour its previous promise to call a referendum, the decision has been taken out of our hands,” says Phil Craig, co-founder of the CIAG. “We must now directly oppose the DA in the 2024 elections. To this end, we will launch the Referendum Party on 9 November 2023.
“For as long as the DA enjoys political domination in the Western Cape, it will balance the interests of the Western Cape people against the political value of DA voters in the rest of South Africa. In short, at a provincial level, they are not willing to act solely in the best interests of the Western Cape people.”
The Referendum Party will be a single-issue party primarily aimed at DA voters who support Cape Independence. It will propose keeping the DA in power (by supporting it as a coalition partner) but forcing them to listen to their own voters and call a referendum on Cape Independence.
“It does not matter how well a DA government in Cape Town performs if all the major decisions are being taken by the ANC government in Pretoria,” adds Craig.
The party will emphasise that without being able to control the following critical aspects of government, the Western Cape will never fulfill its true potential:
- Economic policy
- Policing
- Taxation and spending
- Borders
Cape Independence will deliver control of each of these to the Western Cape Government, and by doing so, will create a better future for the people of the Western Cape.
Join the live broadcast of the Referendum Party’s launch on Thursday 9 November at 10:30.
