DA beefs up security for march on ANC’s Luthuli House

The party said it had roped in private security amid concerns there may be a confrontation between its supporters and ANC members on Wednesday.

JOHANNESBURG – The Democratic Alliance (DA) said it had roped in private security amid concerns there may be a confrontation between its supporters and African National Congress (ANC) members on Wednesday.

The official opposition plans to march on the ANC’s Luthuli House in Johannesburg.

It is protesting against what it calls ANC-sponsored state capture, which it claims has led to the country’s ongoing energy crisis.

A heavy police presence is being maintained at the Mary Fitzgerald Square.

[WATCH] Heavy police presence in the Joburg CBD ahead of the DAs march to Luthuli House. The official opposition says it expects more than 4k people to join its march to the ANC headquarters over loadshedding. ND pic.twitter.com/Np59vyHCwV

EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter)

Safety and security measures are being reinforced by private security personnel wearing yellow and orange reflectors.

The march is expected to kick off later this morning but a few DA members have started gathering at the square as well.

The party said that it expected thousands to join its march against the ANC over load shedding.

In its list of claims against the governing party, the DA has also accused the ANC of failing to implement its own policies, including the plan to unbundle Eskom.

It claims that the ANC’s cadre deployment policy is among the biggest contributors to Eskom’s collapse.

But the ANC has described the march as a misplaced agenda.

The DA’s head of communication, Richard Newton, though, has dismissed the ANC’s response to their march, insisting that the demonstration is warranted.

“We are marching to complain about the way that this government is mishandling the energy crisis in this country and a lot of that comes from cadre deployment, a lot of that comes from the ANC.”

He said that the ANC-led government had failed to fulfil its promise to resolve the energy crisis.

“The people of this country are sick and tired of load shedding. We hear promises, we hear ‘yes, we have plans’ but what are those plans? we don’t see them being implemented Where is the president, when last did he speak to the people of South Africa about load shedding and about the energy crisis.”

A poster circulating online with ANC Youth League insignia has called on members to protect the governing party’s headquarters ahead of the march.