PRESS RELEASE: Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG)
WATERSHED MOMENT FOR CAPE INDEPENDENCE AND THE UNITARY STATE
Ahead of the Local Government Elections (LGE) eight political parties, including the DA, the party of provincial government in the Western Cape, have now confirmed that they are willing to support a referendum on Cape Independence.
The dam-wall has finally burst. Political parties in the Western Cape have called time on a corrupt and incompetent central government abusing its power to enrich a small political elite whilst unemployment and poverty envelops the people they were elected to serve.
The ANC has now governed South Africa for 27 years, yet most Western Cape voters have never voted for them. The Western Cape did not vote the ANC into power, and it has no viable mechanism by which to vote them out. The ANC is forcing down policies onto the Western Cape against its will, despite only having 28.6% of the provincial vote.
Phil Craig, spokesperson for the Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG):
“We are delighted. This is a victory, not just for the people of the Western Cape, but for ordinary South African’s everywhere. Over the last 18 months there has been an awakening, people have simply had enough. As the state fails to fulfil its most basic duties, organisations are stepping into the void. In the Western Cape we have the opportunity to sever ties completely with the ANC national government and to claim the right to elect a government of our own choosing, a government that will spend tax revenue on citizens rather than themselves.”
The level of support amongst political parties became apparent when the Cape Independence Advocacy Group(CIAG) and civic organisation CapeXit jointly began compiling a voting guide for the upcoming elections. Representatives of the groups contacted all the main political parties to establish their position on Cape Independence, and then, regardless of that position, whether they would support a referendum on Cape Independence. The voting guide will be made available to the estimated1.4m Western Cape voters who support Cape Independence. (Click here for the guide)
“Whilst we recognise that not every party who supports a referendum on Cape Independence will support secession, we wish to thank and applaud them for respecting the basic principles of democracy, that the people themselves must decide.”
Interestingly, the ANC acknowledged that referendums are ‘constitutional imperatives’ but stated that there is no ‘democratic wishes of the Western Cape people’ but only the ‘democratic wishes of the South African people’, and as such all South Africans should participate in the event of a referendum.
The parties who said they would support a referendum on Cape Independence are:
- African Christian Democratic Party
- Cape Coloured Congress
- Cape Independence Party
- Cope
- Democratic Alliance
- Karoo Ontwikkeling Party
- United Independent Movement
- Vryheidsfront Plus
DATE: 1 October 2021
