Cosatu and the Western Cape Coalition against Xenophobia held a media briefing in Salt River, where they announced that they stand united and opposed to groups affiliated to March and March on the escalating assault on African migrants.
Cosatu Western Cape and the Western Cape Coalition against Xenophobia (WCC-AX) have said that the Department of Home Affairs should be held accountable for its role in keeping migrants stateless, without papers, and in a state of limbo amid concerns about the 30 June deadline.
March and March have insisted the national protest on Tuesday will be peaceful, while its leader, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, said the movement will not take responsibility for any violence on the day, arguing that public safety is the job of the State.
In a briefing at their offices on Monday, Cosatu's Malvern de Bruyn read out a joint statement on behalf of both organisations, in which they voiced their solidarity and opposition to March and March and affiliated xenophobic groups' escalating assault on African migrants.
“We understand that this is a particularly brutal attempt to divide the working class and the poor. It is intended to distract attention from the abject failures of the government over more than 30 years, to build an economy that works for ordinary people. Instead, we have an elite who live a life of luxury, while millions go hungry and jobless.
