Hundreds of Democratic Alliance members march to the ANC's Luthuli House headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa on 25 January 2023. They marched to protest against continuing blackouts in the country. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla) 
DA supporters and members have come out in numbers to march against the rolling blackouts that are causing a huge disruption across the nation.
The estimated 1,500 marchers included DA leader John Steenhuisen, party Chief Whip Siviwe Gwarube, Western Cape premier Alan Winde, Gauteng leader Solly Msimango, the mayors of Gauteng’s three metropolitan municipalities — Tania Campbell, Mpho Phalatse and Randall Williams — as well as Mogale mayor Tyrone Gray.
The crowd gathered in the park just outside the Johannesburg public library, just metres from Luthuli House, not in front of the building.
“We are facing a serious crisis in South Africa. The crisis lies in Luthuli House where the crooks of the ANC sit,” DA Gauteng provincial leader Solly Msimango told them.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/20V9404.jpg "Hundreds of Democratic Alliance members march to the ANC's Luthuli House headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa on 25 January 2023.. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/5E2B8206.jpg "DA leader John Steenhuisen addresses party members during the march to the ANC's Luthuli House headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa on 25 January 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)")
“That is why we are marching here. The President and the responsible departments do not care about South Africans because they are not affected by load shedding in their homes. Now poor South Africans have to pay the price for their corruption. In the State Capture reports people like former Eskom boss Matshela Koko, who are deployees of the ANC, have greatly contributed to the power issues faced today. When we say deal with them we are told we can’t deal with cadres.”
Steenhuisen said: “If we want to end load shedding, we have to start ANC shedding. And that will only happen if you remember on voting day exactly what they did to you.”
Read in Daily Maverick: “Ramaphosa’s ‘Energy Action Plan’ — how is it faring half a year later?”
As they made their remarks, on the other side of Luthuli House hundreds of ANC members and supporters, mostly young people, gathered to prevent the DA from getting anywhere near the premises.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/5E2B8211.jpg "ANC Youth League members gather outside Luthuli House as the DA march to the headquarters to protest power outages in South Africa. 25 January 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/5E2B8151.jpg "ANC Youth League members gather outside Luthuli House in anticipation of the DA marching to the headquarters to protest power outages in South Africa. 25 January 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)")
‘Not a playground’
According to the youth league’s national organiser, Tlangi Mogale, the DA should keep a 100m distance or hell will break loose.
“We are here as the ANC Youth League because we have the responsibility to protect and preserve the gains of the ANC liberation struggles. Chief among those is the right to encourage peace and stability. The DA is grandstanding on the matters of the energy crisis issues faced by the country. There is no political party that can wake up any day and decide to march to another political party’s headquarters.”
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/5E2B8130.jpg "ANC Youth League members gather outside Luthuli house in anticipation of the DA marching to the headquarters to protest power outages in South Africa. 25 January 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)")
If the DA was “genuine” about fixing those issues, “facing without apportioning it to a political party”, it “must take those possible solutions to Megawatt Park where the Eskom offices lie, not at ANC offices”.
“Inherently, opposition political parties will always be in a campaign mode. Although load shedding is a national phenomenon, now, because they came to Luthuli House, it blurs their intention. The ANC Youth League is also planning a march to Eskom — we could have combined these grievances and directed them to the rightful headquarters, which is Eskom.”
By 1.30pm the march had started to wind down. DM