EFF provincial chairperson Shadrack Tlhaole said he wished to become a resident of Orania.
Image: Sandi Kwon Hoo
EFF PROVINCIAL chairperson Shadrack Tlhaole who intends to relocate along with his family to Orania, expressed his “love for white people” during a march to the Premier's Office this week.
“We are a rainbow nation. We don’t hate whites, we love them, we even worked as slaves for them, ” he stated.
EFF members who joined the march however said they while they were interested in the land, they were not too eager to live in Orania.
EFF members marched to the Office of the Premier this week.
Image: Sandi Kwon Hoo
Tlhaole condemned the exclusion of black South Africans from the Afrikaner enclave and believed that it should be dissolved.
“This is not a culture, it is a modern-day apartheid. Cultural identity cannot be used to justify racial exclusion. We envision a Northern Cape where a black farmer and a white artisan can live in the same town, trade in the same market and send their children to the same school. The economic reserves must be opened.
"The land on which it stands must be returned to the people.”
EFF members want Orania to be dissolved.
Image: Sandi Kwon Hoo
Tlhaole added that should the Office of the Premier ignore their demands, they would mobilise communities, workers and landless people across the Northern Cape.
“We will return to Orania in greater numbers. It is our land, and we demand what is rightfully ours. No section of land in the province should be reserved for one race.
"The Premier must refer the matter to the South African Human Rights Commission and Equality Court for urgent investigation and legal intervention.”
EFF members want access to land in Orania.
Image: Sandi Kwon Hoo
He called for a full audit into any public services, infrastructure, grants and subsidies that were accessed by Orania.
"Orania must be incorporated under the municipal and provincial governance framework and broader provincial economy.
“The people of the Northern Cape have a right to know how their resources are being used to maintain a town that denies them access.
"We must build towns, cities and rural economies that reflect the reality of a united and diverse people.”
Tlhaole said that he believed that Orania undermined national unity and social cohesion.
“Racially exclusive jurisdictions should be abolished. Apartheid has no place in South Africa. Black South Africans are excluded from Orania by race, language and culture, where they are unable to live, work or own property in the area.”
EFF national chairperson Nolutshungu Nontando demanded "an end" to Orania.
Image: Sandi Kwon Hoo
Northern Cape Premier, Dr Zamani Saul, in an interview with the SABC this week, described Orania as a farm.
“If it was a town they would not be able to exclude anyone. If it is private land, the owner can decide who comes into the yard.
“We told the FF+, which entered into a working relationship with the ANC in the Northern Cape Provincial legislature, that it would be difficult to commit to the status of Orania as it has national implications.
"We have referred the matter to the national leadership. “
FF+ provincial leader Dr Wynand Boshoff.
Image: Sandi Kwon Hoo
FF+ provincial chairperson Dr Wynand Boshoff pointed out that no one was excluded from Orania on the basis of race.
“Anyone who wishes to live there must be prepared to be an Afrikaner. Orania will not fall. It exists as a minority seeking self-determination. It was formed to protect the interests of a group that is being ostracised and sidelined through quotas.
"Orania is self-reliant and exists independently without being reliant on the state."
He acknowledged that while they shared different viewpoints, he indicated that they were open to further discussions with the EFF.
EFF members from all over the province marched to the Premiers Office this week.
Image: Sandi Kwon Hoo