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By Lia Marus
Yesterday, the Democratic Alliance (DA) staged their long-planned march on Luthuli House for real jobs . In a meeting between the DA, ANC and the JMPD, ANC representatives stated they "couldn't guarantee that there would be no violence". Well, this is exactly what happened: the DA marched peacefully but some people - "in ANC gear" - started throwing bricks at the marchers. What ever happened to the constitutionally guaranteed right of freedom of expression?
The bill of rights – which is enshrined in the constitution – guarantees every single South African the freedom of expression. What this means, according to the department of justice, is that you have the right to, among others, say whatever you want. However, if what you say is considered hate speech then a muzzle will be put on you.
I would really love to know what these ANC supporters thought was hate speech in this gathering. To me, all Zille and her supporters were trying to say is that the ANC hasn't delivered on their initial promises of jobs – which is a fact –
and that it's time for South Africans to give someone else – in other words, the DA - a chance to create those jobs.
Those faithful devotees of the ANC obviously didn't like the intimation that their beloved party has done wrong and demonstrated their beliefs through violence. They aren't believers in the saying: "Once bitten, twice shy." They'll be faithful to their party until their dying day – no matter how much wrong they do.
Me personally? I honestly think that we need to give the DA a shot at creating the jobs we so desperately need. It's not a race issue. It's a question of our country surviving. If the ANC was successful in creating jobs I would be 100% behind them. Sadly, they didn't succeed. So let's give the DA a chance to show us what they can do!
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