EFF demands dismantling of Pretoria’s Afrikaner-only town

The EFF in Gauteng wants Afrikaner-only settlement, Kelinfontein, in Pretoria to be dismantled.

The party marched to the area on Friday, slamming what it terms as the preservation of the apartheid legacy, which rejects democratic intervention.

Just like Orania in the Northern Cape, Kleinfontein, is only open to Afrikaners for residence.

The EFF condemns such acts as a violation of the country’s values of a non-racial and inclusive South Africa.

The red berets are urging Tshwane communities to join them in confronting and dismantling apartheid monuments like Kleinfontein and everything they represent.

The party also calls on the City of Tshwane to reject any re-zoning applications that perpetuate racial segregation and economic exclusion in order to promote fair access to land and opportunity.

EFF MP, Carl Niehaus, says the settlement must be removed and that the party is willing to go to any length to do that.

The Afrikaner dorp, which was established two years before South Africa achieved democracy, was declared illegal in August last year by the High Court in Pretoria.

Niehaus, an Afrikaner himself, says the law needs to promptly take its course in ensuring that such places are relinquished.

“We will do whatever is necessary in order to stop a place like Kleinfontein, or Orania, or any other white racist enclave to exist in South Africa. In Afrikaans: Genoeg is genoeg! Ons saal dit nie ferder toe laat nie!,” proclaims Niehaus.

He says the party will continue its mission to highlight the situation, which they believe contradicts the country’s values of equality and inclusion.

Some black employees, who work in the Kleinfontein Afrikaners’ dorp (town), claim to be prejudiced by residents of the enclave.

YNews spoke to fueling station workers near the area and they reported receiving antagonistic treatment from some locals.

One employee, who wished to speak anonymously, shared an incident, which he described as degrading, in which one white resident of the white-only town told a black employee that he should speak Afrikaans if he wants to secure a tip from him.

“Well, there was a queue here, so the guy expected me to pretty much help him first, like it was back in the days. There was an incident where an attendant was told that he will not get a tip if he doesn’t speak Afrikaans,” says anonymous.

The petrol station, which employs some black people, barred customers from using its public toilets during the EFF march on Friday, citing drainage issues as reason.

The marchers also seek the removal of a billboard near the town that reads “Welkom in AfriForum wereld”.

The demonstrators eventually encamped before the white-only town’s entrance, which was closed off to the marchers, demanding that the City of Tshwane’s urgent action against the white-only town be implemented.

According to EFF Chairperson, Nkululeko Dunga, Kleinfontein’s racism must be addressed since it forces black people to servitude while providing them with no sanctuary.

Dunga believes that the party’s march to the racist town was necessary to demonstrate that the party is aware of its existence in the country and its intention continue manufacturing racism.

He slammed as unacceptable the fact that black people in the community are solely forced to hard labour and cannot reside there.

“We are here to tell them that this is the same racism that we are calling against because we can never allow an area to be a white-only area where black people are only subjected to sweat and slavery but cannot reside in those areas. There is no area in South Africa or Tshwane, that is a black-only area,” exclaims Dunga.

He goes on to say that residents of the white-only town now denigrate black people because they chose to reconcile with white people, rather than seek justice from them.

He believes it is about time for the country to address historical injustices, such as the oppression of black people during apartheid.

Mmeli Gxabashe, the Gauteng EFF Youth League Convener, believes Kleinfontein should not only be considered illegal, but also demolished.

“We went to municipalities to ask them to expropriate abandoned buildings that are hijacked and to convert them to student accommodation. The municipalities told us about spatial zoning. When white people occupy farms that are supposed to be for agricultural purposes, they use it as a residential area, and they are not removed or told about spatial zoning. We don’t want them to only be rendered illegal, we want their house to be demolished,” states Gxabashe.

The party calls for immediate action against the racist town, which includes a statue of apartheid architect Hendrick Verwoerd.

The party wants the capital city to immediately enforce the Gauteng High Court’s order on the Afrikaner dorp by halting all illegal developments there.

The City of Tshwane’s Head of Housing, Sello Chipu, accepted the EFF’s memorandum, promising to respond to their demands within the next two weeks.

Chipu appeared to reflect the party’s sentiments on the white-only town.

“There is no way that the township can actually be accepted on the basis that it is not actually addressing the injustice of the past. I accept the memorandum on behalf of the City of Tshwane, and I will be able to share it with the officials,” said Chipu.

The locals have meanwhile defended the area, rejecting claims that they are racist and are preserving apartheid.

They have instead described the area as a cultural town. Written by Odirile Rabolao